India, Feb. 12 -- As a medical practitioner, I run health camps in rural areas, where I have seen that poor hygiene is a leading cause of disease. This is especially true for women. In many communities, cultural norms restrict their mobility and bar them from leaving the house, making something as basic as buying sanitary pads difficult. Some rely on male relatives-father or brother-to run this errand for them; others, unable to ask, resort to using cloth that is often unclean, let alone sterilised. The result is infection.

The problem is exacerbated by stigma around safe sanitation practices. It is unfortunate that even today, families readily spend large sums on weddings yet often do not build toilets. Although, for some families, a to...