RituCupTM: an all weather option for women
Various agencies and governments have been running information campaigns and promoting the distribution of sanitary pads, especially among school-going adolescent girls. However, supplies of sanitary pads through schools and village anganwadis have been periodic. The erratic nature of free supplies can lead to irregular use or necessitate purchase from the market — the cheapest pads cost Rs 25-30 per month’s supply. While adolescent girls have been a priority, we at ARTH wondered about young rural and marginalized women in the tribal districts where we work — how did they manage, especially since no agency seemed to focus on their menstrual hygiene?
We conducted a formative study of 61 young (20-35 years) women in villages of tribal southern Rajasthan in 2018, and discovered that the majority were continuing with locally purchased red cloth (laal kapda) purchased for Rs 40-50 from local shops, washed and dried in hidden places, and reused each month till they wore out, which was generally after 4-6 months. About 5-10% women did use disposable sanitary pads, especially if they had to travel during a period. Those using home-washed cloth pads complained of frequent leakage and staining from poor absorbency, suffered sticky discomfort (especially during summer) that made walking difficult, and were unable to travel to another town or the market. Some women said that during the
monsoons when they had to work in the fields, a heavy shower could soak their clothes and if that happened during a period, the stains would embarrassingly be visible to all. Even women using pads had to carefully tiptoe out of the house unseen, to dispose of them after use — it turned out that disposing pads in villages was neither easy nor anonymous.
Launch of ARTH’s RituCupTM
On 11 July 2019 (World Population Day) Action Research & Training for Health (ARTH) launched RituCupTM — a reusable menstrual cup made of medical grade silicone, that could be used for up to 10 years. At a large gathering of about 500 women from villages and a few urban localities of Udaipur and Rajsamand districts of Rajasthan, two women – Prof Vinaya Pendse, Retired Head, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, RNT Medical College, Udaipur and Ms Usha Dangi, Deputy Pradhan, Block Panchayat Badgaon, District Udaipur, formally inaugurated the menstrual cup and called on assembled women to help improve menstrual hygiene practices in the districts. RituCup, positioned as a reliable menstrual hygiene option, was initially made available for Rs 250 a piece by about 600 Taruni Sakhis, ARTH’s Community Health Entrepreneurs (CHEs) scattered across 530 odd villages and urban wards of three rural blocks and Udaipur city. All CHEs were trained to educate and support women through the initial 1-2 periods while they learned to use RituCup. Women were also offered the option of contacting a toll-free number to a day time call centre, for information and support as needed.
Progress
ARTH’s RituCup has gained rapidly in popularity, with 7,924 cups having been purchased by women in the field area as of April 2025. Women reported improved functional efficiency and mobility offered by the cup. “I can jump, dance while using the cup and can go anywhere without fear of staining…”(26 year old woman, completed primary school, married, 2 children).
Being able to manage periods in a private and dignified manner was the basic requirement women talked about and menstrual cup fulfilled this requirement by maintaining privacy. “I do not even feel I am on my periods. So, I really like the cup and use it every month. It feels like every day is the same” (sabhi din ek sarikha lage) (31-year-old woman, completed secondary school, married, 2 children).
To view communication materials on RituCup, click here
To view a short video film(Hindi, 3 minutes) on RituCup, click here
For more information on RituCup, contact arth@arth.in
To view a video film about ARTH, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnLtvrNlmRs