Akshay Kumar calls on all pad heroes of India

Megastar and India’s ‘Pad Man’ Akshay Kumar has called on ‘Pad Heroes’ across India to join him and the Niine Movement for the nationwide running event Run4Niine. Online registrations have already begun for the event which is set to become India's largest nationwide run for menstrual hygiene awareness, with the hope of setting the Guinness World Record for organising the ‘Largest Number of Runs in a Single Day for Menstrual Hygiene Awareness’.

Run4Niine will take place in hundreds of cities across 20+ states in India on the 8th of March 2019 to mark International Women’s Day. Some of the states where runs have been confirmed include Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Haryana, Goa, Jharkhand, NCR, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Punjab.

Run4Niine aims to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind due to her biology, whilst also engaging the men and boys of India to help show support for the cause. As an inclusive initiative, Run4Niine will bring together both genders, across all ages, backgrounds and abilities - to run, walk, jog and wheel across their cities - and help break the silence associated with menstruation as part of the Niine chain.

Raising awareness of Run4Niine, the Pad Man of India and Niine Movement champion Akshay Kumar has launched an impassioned call to action in a video encouraging people across India to register for runs across India to tackle the taboos around menstrual hygiene. Speaking in the video on the significance of the event taking place to mark International Women’s Day, Akshay Kumar says “March 8th is International Women’s Day so let’s support the women in our lives and stamp out the stigma around periods together.” The video also sees him encourage supporters to take part, adding “Take the first step of this long journey by raising awareness on menstrual health.”

Akshay Kumar will flag off Run4Niine in Lucknow. He will also be a part of a special event extravaganza hosted at Sahara Shaher where guests will be entertained and inspired to talk about the importance of menstrual hygiene awareness. Run4Niine has also attracted the participation of several organisations, eminent individuals and brands across India, committed to the menstrual hygiene awareness cause.

• Sahara Group of Companies to support Run4Niine extensively across Lucknow with Future Sahara Hospital coming on board as Medical Partner, and Sahara Shaher hosting the flagship Lucknow event with Akshay Kumar

• Senior Women Police Officers of Gurgaon Supreme Court Advocate Dil Jit Singh Ahluwalia, and senior members of Gurgaon District Court will flag-off the Gurgaon run at Leisure Valley

• Fortis Hospitals will support Run4Niine as Medical Partner across the country in cities they are present in

• Television actor and Niine Sanitary Napkins Brand Ambassador Manav Gohil will flag-off the run in Mumbai. Manav featured in Niine Sanitary Napkins breakthrough creative video to mark Daughter’s Day. He is committed to doing his part to encourage fathers to openly discuss menstruation with their daughters

• Run4Niine will take place in Ludhiana’s beautiful Nehru Rose Garden, the largest rose garden of Asia, which spreads over an area of 27 acres

• Coca-Cola will support Run4Niine as beverage partner across 10 cities, including in Lucknow

• FICCI Lucknow will also support the runs in Lucknow, engaging its network of business professionals and leaders  

Run4Niine has been organised in partnership with Junior Chambers International - India (JCI), the non-profit organisation encouraging young people to be active responsible citizens. JCI India has been leading efforts to take the ‘Let’s Talk About Periods’ message to the streets of India by spearheading the launches of runs in over 200 cities in India, only made possible through JCI India’s expansive chapter networks.

Speaking about JCI India’s involvement, JCI India 2019 President Shirish Dundoo and JCI India 2018 President Arpit Hathi, who are mobilising support for Run4Niine across cities jointly said: “We are looking forward to taking the Let’s Talk Periods message out to the streets of India this International Women’s Day and have been overwhelmed with the response we have received from our network who are eager to join hands. India has more than 50% of its population below the age of 25 and it is important that the youth of today is encouraged to come out for topics like these. It is shocking to believe that 70% of girls in India have no knowledge of menstruation before their first period. We need to bridge this gap and we are proud to be a part of the Run4Niine initiative by Niine Sanitary Napkins.” 

The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), a long-term partner of Niine and one of the largest membership-based organizations for specialized professionals within the field of obstetrics and gynaecology in India, will organise workshops in several cities where Run4Niine activities are taking place, to help encourage more people to take an active role.

FOGSI 2018 President, Dr Jaideep Malhotra and FOGSI 2019 President, Dr Nandita Palshetkar jointly said: “We are extremely proud to be associated with Run4Niine and truly believe in their vision to tackle menstrual taboos. We will be conducting workshops across India to help encourage people to start a dialogue on periods.”

Run4Niine expands the nationwide #18to82 campaign initiated by Niine Sanitary Napkins, under its Niine Movement, to bridge the gap between the 18% of menstruating females in India who use sanitary napkins, and the 82% predominantly engaging in unhygienic and unsafe alternatives such as old cloths, rags, hay and even ash. Speaking about his association with Run4Niine, megastar Akshay Kumar said, “It’s already been more than a year since the release of Pad Man, and I am proud to see how it has evolved into a phenomenal grass roots level movement. Once again, I am excited to be partnering with the Niine Movement to encourage an open and unashamed discussion on menstruation with my fellow citizens, pad heroes, change makers and pathbreakers for the Run4Niine. Each one of us that takes part in Run4Niine helps to create an unstoppable force that will beat the stigma around periods.” 

Run4Niine marks the next step in the Niine Movement’s 5-year ambitious plan for action on menstrual hygiene awareness, which is to engage the youth. The Niine Movement and Niine Sanitary Napkins, the made-in-India, affordable yet premium sanitary napkins brand, was co-founded by leading Gorakhpur social-entrepreneurs, Amar Tulsiyan and Gaurav Bathwal and Kanpur entrepreneur Sharat Khemka. 

Speaking about the launch of Run4Niine, Amar Tulsiyan said, “I am delighted to be launching Run4Niine. The first event of its kind, we aim to galvanise the population into action and hope to get every woman, man and child running to break the taboos around menstrual hygiene. I would like to thank JCI India and FOGSI for their support to help extend the reach of Run4Niine further, and to thank Mr. Akshay Kumar for his continued support. It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to work with such esteemed organisations and brilliant minds and we look forward to expanding our partner footprint further to truly create a Chain of Niine.”

Sign up to Run4Niine today to show your support at  www.niine.com/run4niine