Women's Day: This ‘Pad Woman’ reaches out to rural women

AHMEDABAD: Like the lead character in Akshay Kumar starrer ‘Pad Man’, the sobriquet ‘Pad Woman’ is an apt one for Rangoli Bakshi.
On World Women’s Day today, Bakshi is assuming the role of ‘Pad Woman’, taking a complete gynaecological health check-up to the doorsteps of 1,500 women of 30 villages in Khambhat taluka of Anand district.
“The women of these villages have never heard of a gynaecologist and see gynaecological problems as a curse from God.We want to create awareness among these women and make them realize the need to visit a a gynaecologist,” said Bakshi, the founder director of Tresna Foundation. “As part of ‘Hoon Chhoon’, or ‘I exist’, project being launched on Friday to mark the World Women’s Day, we aim to treat as many women as possible for their gynaecological problems,” she said.
As part of the project, Tresna Foundation is holding the screening of the movie ‘Pad Man’ in these villages to sensitize women to this burning issue. “The screening will be done through projectors set up in different villages. Initially, there will be an interactive workshop only for women by leading gynaecologist Dr Hetal Patolia. There will be free distribution of sanitary clothes among woman,” said Sharan Taneja, co-founder of Tresna Foundation.
“The sanitary clothes have been stitched by juvenile delinquents of the observation home in Khanpur,” Taneja said.