In the wonderland of women centric products

It was one of those days when I suddenly realized that the world around me has changed beyond recognition.
I had gone to a medical shop to buy some medicine when a group of four girls came there. They were in their pre-teens and were having an animated discussion on which sanitary napkin was the best buy! They were quoting from the ads that appear regularly on TV. They were not shy, neither did they speak in whispers or undertones – obviously, they knew what they needed.

Yes – such purely feminine and women centric products are no longer taboo, thanks to the ads. Schools are setting up napkin vending machines in their premises. Of course, many of them do not have proper toilets and the girls skip those days to attend school - but, that is a different kettle of fish.
Talking about the women centric products, there is the 21-day pill which guarantees avoidance of unwanted pregnancies. Alongside is the ad of a kit to check for pregnancies.
Watching the TV soaps, anyone can know the tell-tale signs of pregnancy – signs like morning sickness accompanied by a desire to eat pickles. Any elderly woman in the family knew the signs. Why then have a kit?
In this connection, I remember a story that I read in the 1960s – it was penned by a famous Bengali author and was about life in Britain in those days. It was about a mother caring for her growing up daughter. She used to give specially doctored milk to her daughter before she left for school. The doctoring was done by adding powdered contraceptive pills to the milk – it was done on the sly!!


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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