Paint It Red

On July 19, 2021, the first-year students of Loreto College, Kolkata, attended an interactive session with Ms Ananya Chhaochharia and Ms Nargis Khan, both ex-students of the Political Science Department of Loreto College and co-founders of the NGO Paint It Red. The NGO aims to empower communities by providing them with tools necessary to combat and eliminate stereotypes around periods and creating a space for menstrual rights and reduce period poverty. Paint it Red was established in the year 2019.

Ms Chhaochharia and Ms Khan shared the story of their journey behind the creation of their NGO and how they got inspired to set out on this noble initiative. Paint It Red currently works across 11 states of India. They have distributed 56000+ cloth pads to 11000 women across six states as a part of their campaign Bleed in Peace which they undertook in the face of women losing access to sanitary napkins amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The organisation works on initiating conversations on the much tabooed topic of menstruation. They aim at breaking the silence and filling the existing void on knowledge and awareness on menstruation among the general public. Paint It Red has also been empowering some Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in West Bengal by organising an outreach programme where the SHGs are engaged in making cloth pads. The students by interacting with Ms Chhaochharia and Ms Khan learnt of how a passion project can contribute to the betterment of society.