The 43-year-old writer-producer Twinkle Khanna is on a roll. She has now been invited to speak at The Oxford Union, the world's most prestigious debating society. Twinkle is expected to speak on the story of her film, PadMan based on the life of a social entrepreneur and activist Arunachalam Muruganantham, who transformed sanitary hygiene in rural India 20 years ago. The actress turned author would also discuss how the film plays an interesting role in tackling taboos and addressing the stigma around menstrual hygiene.
https://twitter.com/OxfordUnion/status/953566679740702720
Twinkle has been promoting the film’s message with a vengeance. Recently Mrs. Funnybones, as her Twitter handle goes, was anything but funny as she talked about her film during an interview with BBC. She aired her main concern - the tax on sanitary napkins in India. The government needs to understand that for a girl, a sindoor might be important, but a tampon is way more than just a necessity, she has emphasized.
RECOMMENDED READ: HOW AKSHAY KUMAR TURNED INTO ‘PRANK MAN’ FROM ‘PADMAN’!
Not long ago, she also met with ministers Maneka Gandhi and Smriti Irani to take her mission forward. “Discussing spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene and after meeting @Manekagandhibjp and @smritiirani – two empathetic, fierce and decisive ministers, I’m convinced that the world would be better if just women were running the show,” she had tweeted.
https://twitter.com/mrsfunnybones/status/943348367865901056
Husband and PadMan leading man Akshay have been equally vocal in raising menstrual awareness. “I am already victorious with millions and millions of people talking about PadMan on social media, men discussing with other men and asking each other whether they watched the PadMan trailer and that it talks about sanitary pads… It (menstruation) is a natural process of a human body. It is time to get rid of those taboos attached to it and it is time to treat the issue maturely. Also, women should not shy away from talking about the issue and certainly should not whisper about it,” he recently declared.
Incidentally, PadMan will be the first Indian film to be screened at The Oxford University.
