Kathikeda
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2019: Oscar spotlight
Tucked away in a corner of Hapur district, some 120km from Delhi, Kathikeda was an obscure village. As news spread about the film ‘Period. End of Sentence’ winning an Oscar for best short documentary, people from adjacent villages began arriving to celebrate.
The movie has been filmed on the sanitary pad-making unit here. Ironically, when the unit was set up in 2017, it had led to negative comments from villagers. Some made fun of the people employed here while others said the work was “dirty”.
“I dropped out of school after Class IX due to lack of funds. I always wanted to complete my education and become a singer. However, I could not contribute to the family’s income. Then the unit was started. At first, I told my family that I used to make diapers for kids; I told them the truth much later. They eventually allowed me to continue working, although they protested at first. I get Rs 2,500 a month now and I am saving the money to complete my education and fulfil my dream of becoming a singer,” said 18-year-old Ruksana.
She is among the several whose dreams have got wings thanks to ‘Fly’ sanitary napkins made here. Currently a workplace for seven women, the unit operates from the house of Suman, who was in Los Angeles for the Oscar ceremony on Monday, along with the movie’s leading actor, Sneha.