One of the top brands of sanitary napkins in India is “Whisper”, a name that comes from the shame and secrecy associated with buying such a product. Owned by Procter & Gamble, the sanitary napkin is called “Always” in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany and Africa. In India and other Asian countries, however, the brand is called “Whisper”.
Now, a petition on Change.org started by Shreya Gupta of Bengaluru is asking Whisper to change its name. In a video that goes with the petition, two young women talk about the power of a name and how ‘Whisper’ contributes to creating a negative idea about menstruation. The women say that despite all of Whisper’s efforts to break the taboo around menstruation through their progressive advertising, the brand name sends out a subliminal message – that you have to be secretive about your period and whisper about it.
Read this article at The News Minute to find out more about the petition and to watch the video!