A Catholic nun, who has promoted women’s hygiene in Indian villages for years, on February 26 expressed happiness that a documentary on menstruation has won an Oscar award. “We are very happy,” Sister Liza Ignatius, gynecologist at Our Lady of Graces Hospital in Sardhana, in the northern Indian State of Uttar Pradesh.

The documentary film “Period – End of Sentence,” available on Netflix, on February 25 won the Best Documentary category at the 91st Academy Awards.

The documentary by American-Iranian director Rayka Zehtabchi tells the difficulties of seven Indian women working in a small sanitary towel factory, since their use is considered unacceptable.

According to Sister Ignatius, the award “is good news for us who serve poor women in rural areas. This will help us to improve our initiatives in favour of women’s hygiene.”

“My patients are very poor and come from rural villages. We regularly organize programs and courses on women’s issues, such as menstrual hygiene. The hospital is at the service of the poorest of the poor,” Sister Ignatius says.