Contrary to the implications of the advertisement for Kotex in Nepal Times (#226) the normal menstrual cycle is not a debilitating illness or incapacitating disability but rather a periodic indication of the female power of fertility. It is quite obvious to any female reader that the Kotex advertising campaign has been conceived and composed by persons who have never ever had a menstrual cycle, namely men. Otherwise they certainly would know this to be true, despite the fact that such men must witness women in their lives who do not disable themselves five days a month, as the advertisement explicitly suggests, which thereby illustrates their inability to transcend their own ignorance on the point. It is safe to say that your advertising department is out of touch with the customer profile of your female readers. Nepal already suffers from a severe chronic wretched case of menstruation and female-related paranoia without you adding to it.

Furthermore, you might ask your advertiser to promote high-tech fibres and design construction thereby honouring the intelligence and dignity of the potential customer instead of insulting it as it is presently doing. Another approach would be to politely suggest that Kotex come back to Nepali Times after redesigning their advertising campaign at an agency that includes significant numbers of conscientious women among its staff.

Surely there is at least once such firm in Nepal? It is really surprising to see that Nepali Times, with so much credibility earned among its readers over the years, has succumbed to demeaning itself in its quest for advertising revenue, having ignored or failed to see the tragic nature of the advertising campaign it has accepted.

Long-time Nepali Times subscriber, strong, healthy menstruator, and long-liberated menstrual CUP user