This 'Pink Bra' is Helping Pakistani Women Detect Breast Cancer Early
Pakistan has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer in Asia. Most women from the lower socio-economic group lack even basic awareness and do not like to speak about it publicly. This silence claimed the lives of 40,000 women in Pakistan, last year alone. Doctor Rufina Soomro, one of Pakistan’s leading breast cancer experts says, “Most women think it’s immoral and inappropriate to speak about breast cancer. These cultural taboos hinder awareness campaigns in Pakistan”. These taboos also make it impossible to speak to underprivileged women about breast cancer.
The Pink Bra is an innovative solution from Tonic International that overcomes cultural taboos and helps women save their own lives.
It borrows from a local insight- underprivileged women tuck money and valuables inside their bra. The idea turned this everyday action into a breast cancer self-examination exercise.
It looks like an ordinary bra but it comes with pockets. Inside the pockets are raised tactile outlines. So every time a woman slips money inside her bra, the raised tactile outlines will guide her hand and tell them where exactly to press to self-examine. Easy to understand illustrations, inside the bra, explain each step of the self-examination in detail.
Mr. Omer Aftab, CEO and founder of Pink Ribbon Pakistan says, “The Pink Bra is a simple idea that can create awareness amongst many women on the basic standards of self-examination and knowledge that could save their lives.”
To ensure the bra discreetly reached underprivileged women for free, an online campaign was launched.
The #giveapinkbra movement urged upper-class women to gift the bra to the underprivileged women working around them.
Cristiano Tonnarelli, ECD of Tonic International says, “We are very glad to partner with Pink Ribbon to improve the lives of underprivileged women in Pakistan. The research and execution took a while but our efforts are finally paying off. The #giveapinkbra movement is growing every day, overcoming our expectations.”
In a short time, the project has managed to garner support from leading public figures including renowned actors Sanam Saeed and Maria Wasti.
You can visit giveapinkbra.com to know how you can join the cause.
