Myna Mahila Foundation

Myna Mahila Foundation works with the three-fold objective of improving menstrual hygiene, generating employment for women and building women networks Read more. Another objective is to end the culture of myths, shame and stigma surrounding menstruation and to encourage women to talk about it without considering it a taboo. It works by producing low-cost and good-quality menstrual hygiene products which are supplied to women through door-to-door selling. Women from slum areas in Mumbai are engaged in the process of manufacturing sanitary napkins to provide them with a steady income and augment their status within their families. Apart from the sale of sanitary pads, its operating model is based on principles of education and innovation. Women are educated about menstrual hygiene through quarterly health camps and referred to gynaecologists to maintain menstrual health. The innovation approach focuses on product and process innovation on the basis of customer feedback. To achieve its objective of spreading awareness about menstruation and creating solutions for menstrual problems, it conducts research through door-to-door surveys to develop an understanding of sanitary pad disposal, women’s health, menstrual hygiene and women's employment. To train its employees, it conducts weekly workshops, courses and lectures on English, life skills, health, self-defence and computer literacy. It also trains its employees in business skills to equip them with the necessary skill-set to open a micro-franchise themselves. It is also working on developing opportunities for women, especially mothers, to work from home by providing them with sewing machines and connecting them to marketplaces. Through its portrait project, it aims to highlight the health journeys of its women employees. Myna shop is its initiative to collect donations in kind and redistribute them to individuals in need. In recognition of its work, it had been selected as one of the seven beneficiary charities for the wedding of Royal British family members Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle.