Here's why Indian women still resist tampons

Tampons have been around for centuries. In ancient Egypt, women used linen and other natural fibers. They also used cotton pads. But it wasn't until 1894 that the first commercially-available sanitary product was invented. Many products and brands of tampons are sold in India. However, many women still do not use them.

 Most women think of the use of tampons as a no-brainer. When they buy these, they are simply buying something that they are going to put in their underwear to absorb a flow of menstrual fluid. But not so in India. There, the use of tampons is still frowned upon.

Here are the reasons why:

"Most women use it because it is comfortable," Taniya Bhatia, a professor at Ashoka University, told the BBC. Tampons are made out of polyester. Polyester has stretchy fibers. It has a smooth surface. It does not fit the body's contours well.

Many women prefer to use the basic sanitary pads made of cotton. They do not slide off and will not leave a mark on your skin. Sanitary pads made of polyester make women keener to use pads over tampons.

Sanitary pads or sanitary napkins, provide women a sense of security. It is one of the reasons why women still don't like to use them.

Many women believe that they are at the risk of the tampon falling out when they use one, whereas they can be worry-free about this issue in the case of sanitary pads.

It doesn’t make sense — it is just “inconvenient” to remove them when you need them. In this age of technology, you can get online and check your periods and find out when they will start and when they will end. In India, it is considered taboo. “The women say that they have never seen anyone using them,” says Tarjot Basani, the CEO of Period Band, an initiative to change menstrual hygiene practices in India.

4.No privacy 

We cannot talk about tampons and menstrual hygiene in a “private” space, without talking about menstruation. This is what women say they encounter when they talk to others about their periods. For them, it’s a “private” thing, they “don’t want to share that with anyone”. For them, they feel that “tampons are used by other women as an option to conceal menstruation.

You can find several tampons, sanitary napkins, and sanitary pads in India. However, not all of them are available in local Indian stores. You have to search online. You can find a cotton sanitary pad, which will last for 4-5 hours. You can also get a sanitary pad made of polyester easily but in the case of tampons, it might be hard to find the one that works for Indian women and keep them clean and comfortable. That's why pads are considered the best option by Indian women over tampons most of the time.