You can send women to the Moon or Mars later. First, provide

When Arunachalam Muruganantham declared, “You can send women to the Moon or Mars later. First, provide sanitary pads to them,” he was not scorning the stars, but reminding humanity that true progress begins with dignity on earth. His words strike at the heart of justice: what worth is there in conquering the heavens if half of humanity suffers silently in shame and neglect? To lift women into space is noble, but to provide them the means to live with health, confidence, and equality is far more urgent and foundational.

The ancients, too, spoke of order in human striving. Before building empires, they taught, one must first secure bread for the people. Rome did not endure through conquest alone but through the grain supply that fed its citizens. In the same way, Muruganantham declares that before dreaming of Mars, society must first answer the earthly cry for basic necessities—like sanitary pads, without which millions of women face humiliation, lost opportunities, and even disease.

History bears witness to his truth. In many lands, girls have abandoned school not because of lack of intelligence, but because of the absence of menstrual hygiene. Their voices were silenced not by law, but by neglect. By inventing a low-cost sanitary pad machine, Muruganantham gave back to women the chance to remain in classrooms, to pursue careers, to walk into society unburdened by a natural cycle turned into stigma. His invention was not merely mechanical—it was revolutionary.

His words also expose the hypocrisy of progress. Nations boast of rockets, satellites, and glittering towers, yet often fail to ensure dignity for their most vulnerable. To seek the heavens while ignoring the earthbound struggles of women is to mistake glory for greatness. Muruganantham reminds us that true civilization is not measured by space exploration alone, but by the daily freedom and equality enjoyed by its people.

Thus, let this wisdom endure for generations: first tend to the foundations of justice, then reach for the stars. For only when women walk unhindered in dignity can humanity claim to be ready for the Moon or Mars. Muruganantham’s words are not a denial of ambition, but a reordering of priorities—an eternal reminder that the greatest journeys begin with the simplest acts of compassion.