[caption id="attachment_1243" align="alignright" width="150"]<a href="http://www.hormonesoup.com/meet-the-tampon-king-the-toilet-hackers/httpwww-dreamstime-com-image21707029/" rel="attachment wp-att-1243"><img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-1243" alt="Sanitary Pad" src="http://www.hormonesoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/dreamstime-sanitary-pad-150x150.jpg" width="150" height="150" /></a> What would you decide? Milk for your family or sanitary pads for yourself?[/caption]

I love <a title="The Tampon King" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-tampon-king-who-sparked-a-period-of-change-for-indias-women-7897093.html" target="_blank">this story</a> and when I read it I wept.  I couldn't help it. Really, thinking about a woman having to decide between buying milk for her family or expensive feminine hygiene products for herself is just so hard to imagine.

When Arunachalam Muruganantham found out his wife was using dirty rags instead of sanitary pads he was shocked.  Then he took action - beginning a quest to revolutionize the sanitary napkin problem for women in India.  More than a decade later, not only does he have a company that produces cheap sanitary napkins for women, he also empowers women by localizing production of the pads so women are manufacturing the pads locally and selling them for a third of the cost of big brand products.   Mr.  Muruganantham spent years developing prototypes and became obsessed with finding a solution - even in the face of ridicule.  But he didn't give up and he eventually won a National Innovation Foundation award and has been dubbed the "Tampon King".

This story is not just about the cost - it's more about hygiene.  Now if someone could find a way to make sure girls have access to toilets at school they wouldn't have to miss school during their period.  How would that empower a girl?!

Did you know that 2.6 billion people around the world don't have access to something as seemingly simple as a toilet?  Being a man without a toilet is one thing (sorry guys) but honest to God, a woman without access to a toilet is tragic.   Check out what the <a title="Toilet Hackers" href="http://toilethackers.org/get-involved/" target="_blank">Toilet Hackers</a> are doing to bring a toilet to everyone in the world - it's an amazing initiative and if you love your toilet as much as I love my 4 toilets!! I suggest you get involved - they have ways you can donate, help engineer &amp; design toilets, you name it.  Or something as simple as just buying your toilet paper from <a title="Who Gives a Crap" href="http://getgoodgoods.myshopify.com/" target="_blank">whogivesacrap.org</a> donates funds toward the project.

Give a woman access to a toilet and sanitary napkins and she can accomplish anything!