An adolescent's life
drastically changes
the day they start
menstruating. Seeking support & healthcare
Participating in school & the workforce
Making informed choices about their bodies
Joining social gatherings Across urban and rural India, menstruation is believed to be ‘impure’. Overwhelming stigma, taboos and a lack of knowledge prevents menstruators from:

An adolescent's life drastically changes the day they start menstruating.

Across urban and rural India, menstruation is believed to be ‘impure’. Overwhelming stigma, taboos and a lack of knowledge prevents menstruators from:
Seeking support & healthcare Participating in school & the workforce Making informed choices about their bodies Joining social gatherings
We believe in de-stigmatising menstrual, sexual and reproductive health starting with an individual, household and eventually community to enable marginalised menstruators to seek healthcare, advocate for their needs and participate equitably in school, workplaces and society, eventually leading to reduced gender inequity and better health and wellbeing.

We believe that normalising menstruation through reproductive health education and open dialogue with menstruators and the wider community of men and boys, local elders and teachers will reduce long-term gender inequity by enabling menstruators to advocate for their needs and reclaim agency over their bodies.

Our Programmes

Designing Change

Innovating solutions to gender equity challenges

Enacting change within a household, community and ecosystem

Creating safe spaces in homes and schools to break the silence around menstruation
A 15-month grassroots fellowship shaping future menstrual health leaders
Incubating menstrual health start-ups to strengthen the ecosystem

Sustaining Change

India’s only free menstrual and sexual reproductive telehealth helpline

Our Impact

Our journey taught us access to menstrual products is only one part of the issue. To improve the participation, health and agency of menstruators, we had to break the silence around menstruation and include men and boys in the conversation.

Monitoring and evaluation conducted with 600 adult and 250 adolescent menstruators from marginalised communities

Creating a Movement

To date, the number of menstruators and influencers we’ve reached in marginalised communities across India.
Hover over each beneficiary to view our 2025 impact goals.

203,540

2,500,000

Adult & adolescent menstruators

10

States

10

States

749

Men
& Boys

300,000

Men
and Boys

680

Community
influencers

2000

Community
influencers

26

Swasthya
Saheli

300

Swasthya
Saheli

23

Period
Fellows

150

Period
Fellows

2

PeriodPreneurs

50

PeriodPreneurs

Discover Our Impact

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Impact

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Period Fellow

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PeriodPreneur

Slide Lakshmi started to skip school during her period every month, missing 8-10 days of class. Pragna (Period Fellow 2018-19) conducted four menstrual health and hygiene sessions at the school and gently addressed Lakshmi’s fears. She discussed taboos and shared how Lakshmi can manage her period to avoid staining, encouraging her to find a safe space within the school to change her pad throughout the day. Since Pragna’s sessions, Lakshmi had the confidence to attend school again during her period without fear or shame. Lakshmi (name changed for anonymity) was in seventh standard when her sanitary pad leaked during class, staining her uniform with blood. Already feeling mortified and ashamed, Lakshmi’s teacher made matters worse by singling her out and telling her to avoid touching babies while she menstruates (a common taboo in certain communities). Slide For the past twenty years, Anita had been removing her pubic hair using a blade that would leave painful cuts on her vagina that bled for two weeks at a time. Anita (named changed for anonymity) is a forty-five year old mother of three living in an urban slum community. She applied turmeric each time to try and disinfect her wounds, however this did little to relieve her pain and discomfort. Annapurna, the session facilitator, gently advised Anita to visit a doctor in case of infection and for pain management, while sharing how she can safely and hygienically remove pubic hair to avoid cuts. Anita sought out a doctor and followed Annapurna’s advice - she was relieved to see an immediate improvement. In the final session Anita shared passionately that she will be teaching her daughters correct menstrual health and hygiene practices, so they will never have to suffer like her. Slide During her next menstrual cycle she experimented touching food that she was forbidden to touch and realised the food didn’t spoil. Lata gained confidence to challenge the taboos at home and found she did not have to live in shame during her period. Lata (name changed for anonymity) is twenty-six and living in an urban slum community in Bengaluru. During one of our menstrual health sessions, she shared that since moving in with her husband’s family her mother-in-law forbids her from entering the kitchen during menstruation and touching certain foods as she believes they will get spoiled by her touch. Lata was shocked and found the taboos incredibly difficult to follow as she had to feed her two young children. When Mani, the session facilitator, spoke to Lata about menstrual hygiene, self-care and myths and taboos, Lata realised what her mother-in-law told her may not be true. Slide “After gaining knowledge about menstrual cycles, my wife and I have been able to fall pregnant!” Lokesh exclaims happily. “Now, even if my wife coughs, I will immediately take her to the doctor!” In Satnami Nagar, an urban slum in Bhopal, people work on construction sites as daily wage laborers earning 300-500 rupees per day. Satyam, a PeriodPreneur, arrives in the evening to gather a small group of men and adolescent boys to initiate conversations around menstrual and sexual reproductive health. Despite the long hours of physical labour, the group of men listen attentively, interested to learn how to take better care of their family. One particular evening, Satyam is approached by Lokesh (name changed for anonymity) who attended one of his sessions three weeks ago. Slide There are no dustbins in the bathrooms and I feel uncomfortable carrying my pad to the washroom in front of the men. Hema (name changed for anonymity) shares how difficult she finds it to manage her period while working long days at a garment factory in urban Bengaluru. The session facilitator, Asha, suggested the menstrual cup may help her manage her period hygienically, without the embarrassment or discomfort. Hema immediately ordered the cup online and shared excitedly in the following session that she’d been able to manage her period with ease while working at the factory. Hema felt confident in her menstrual health knowledge and shared that she’d also started talking to her cousins about menstruation, encouraging them to overcome their shame and share their concerns openly.

We are supported by:

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Sukhibhava Foundation is a tax-exempt charitable trust registered in Bengaluru, India. Reg. No. MLS-4-00014-2016-18.
Gramin Vikas Samiti is a registered society with the Registrar, Firm & Societies Chandigarh, India. Reg. No. HR-018-2012-00121.
Uninhibited Australia Ltd is a registered company under the Corporations Act 2001 in Victoria, Australia. Australian Company Number (ACN) 647 986 365.

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