“In Hindu culture, at least in Nepal, menstruation is seen as something impure.” During their menstrual cycles, women are often expected to sleep separately from their husbands, or even, in rural areas, to sleep outside of the house in a cow shed. “We were not just selling a product but creating a market for a product that never existed,” said Rana, who during her graduate studies at Harvard Law School this year has continued her focus on women’s and human rights. They decided to start with a small project by importing ten vending machines into Nepal, and very quickly, their business, Pad2Go, was born. The two friends decided to establish a social business that would generate income, but also have an important social impact by providing women with a much-needed service. In India, universities and some other public places had vending machines that sold sanitary napkins, but there was nothing similar in Nepal. Her then acquaintance Shubhangi Rana, a civil engineer, was also job-hunting, and as they sat over coffee in Katmandu, they hit upon an idea. ’22 was studying for the bar in Nepal and looking for a job after earning a law degree from National Law University, Delhi, in India, where she concentrated in women’s rights and human rights.
