INDIA'S LARGEST NATIONWIDE RUN, “RUN4NIINE

INDIA'S LARGEST NATIONWIDE RUN, “RUN4NIINE”, TO TAKE PLACE IN MUMBAI WITH POLITICIAN DR. BHARATI LAVEKAR, MLA – VERSOVA CONSTITUENCY, TV PERSONALITY MANAV GOHIL AND PAD HERO PARVEEN SHEIKH TO DRIVE MENSTRUAL HYGIENE AWARENESS 

• A Niine Sanitary Napkins Initiative with the Support of Pad Man Akshay Kumar 

• Sign up at https://www.niine.com/run4niine/events/mumbai/ 

1st of March 2019, Mumbai: Run4Niine, India’s largest nationwide run taking place in over 500 cities across India to end taboos around menstruation, will now take place at 6:00am onwards from Metro Cinema on 8th March in Mumbai to mark International Women’s Day. 

An initiative by Niine Sanitary Napkins, the made-in-India, affordable yet premium sanitary napkins brand, Run4Niine is supported by the Niine Movement, which launched the nationwide #18to82 campaign 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.

Hundreds of participants have already registered and will be running, walking, jogging even wheeling in the city to help break the silence associated with menstruation. Run4Niine Mumbai will be organised by JC Latika Sheth of JCI India, the non-profit organisation encouraging young people to be active responsible citizens and to take the ‘Let’s Talk About Periods’ message to over 500 streets.

The Chief Guest will be Dr. Bharati Lavekar, MLA – Versova Constituency and founder of TEE Foundation, an NGO with the singular aim of tackling women’s issues related to female feticide, sanitation, hygiene and women’s education. As part of the Foundation’s work in menstrual hygiene awareness, the organization provides free distribution of sanitary pads, installation of free sanitary pad ATM’s and disposal machines and various awareness programmes to promote sanitary hygiene. 

At the flag-off, Dr Lavekar will be joined by Pad Hero Parveen Sheikh a slum dweller who set up a sanitary napkins manufacturing unit, Sangeeta Singh actress and Mrs Universe East Asia 2018, actor and film financer Yash Ahlawat, astrologer Dr Sadhvi Sakshi and renowned television personality and Niine Sanitary Napkins Brand Ambassador Manav Gohil. 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. 

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 address topics such as 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.” 

Run4Niine will be supported by the Pad Man of India, Akshay Kumar who will flag off the event in Lucknow. Speaking about his association with Run4Niine, megastar Akshay Kumar said, “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.” 

Niine Sanitary Napkins is a challenger brand in the menstrual hygiene sector of India and was co-founded by leading Gorakhpur social-entrepreneurs, Amar Tulsiyan and Gaurav Bathwal and Kanpur entrepreneur Sharat Khemka. The brand entered the market with products that have leveraged the innovation and expertise of international experts in the United States who have extensive experience in designing products in the sanitation and hygiene space. Niine Sanitary Napkins is also the first sanitary napkin brand in India, which comes with a disposal bag and the first to launch a Period Tracker app. 

Speaking about the launch of Run4Niine, Amar Tulsiyan said, “Run4Niine is the first event of its kind, with the aim of galvanising the population into action by breaking 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 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.”

Run4Niine is powered by JCI India and supported by Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI). Run4Niine national partners include: Fortis Hospitals as medical partner across the cities they are present, and Coca-Cola as beverage partner across 10 cities including in Lucknow. Run4Niine’s media partners are Dainak Jagran, BIG FM and India News.

Run4Niine is also supported by UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

WaterAid India supports the Run4Niine initiative to spread awareness on menstrual hygiene management. WaterAid India’s stance is based on a three-pronged approach:  Social and behaviour change communication (includes education, health promotion, combatting negative social cultural taboos among girls and their influencers); Water, sanitation and hygiene (including disposal) infrastructure that are responsive to menstruation needs of women and girls; and Enabling environment (includes safe spaces for girls to manage menstruation, capacitating influencers to support girls, and responsive and convergent policies).

Run4Niine will take place in hundreds of cities across 20+ states in India including 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 Mumbai takes place on 8th March from Metro Cinema (near Churchgate Station) to Opera House. The registration will commence at 6:00am at Chowpatty. 

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

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