To Eradicate Period Poverty, This Startup Donates One Menstrual Cup On Every Purchase It Gets!

Written By: Sonali

May 26, 2022

Highlights

70% of the menstruators in India can’t afford to buy sanitary napkins.
12.3 billion plastic pads go to landfill every year.
What is Asan? What is its aim?
Asan’s 1-for-1 donation scheme,
How is it helping people in Rural India?

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Did you know that almost 70 per cent of the menstruating women in India can’t afford to buy sanitary napkins?

When Bengaluru-based Ira Guha, 28, first began researching period poverty in India, she was astonished by the fact that nearly 50% of girls and women in developing countries cannot afford a safe period solution —‌ which leads to poor health outcomes and prevents them from going to school and work.

This very fact led her to create something that is changing thousands of women’s lives today along with protecting our precious planet. She put together a team at Harvard to create a safe and sustainable menstrual product.

Asan is an eco-friendly, sustainable and safe menstrual cup which Ira designed with her team from scratch. For every single purchase that Asan gets, it donates one menstrual cup for free to underprivileged rural girls and women. Read their inspiring journey to know more!

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Did you know that almost 70 per cent of the menstruating women in India can’t afford to buy sanitary napkins?

A depressing fact it is!!

When Bengaluru-based Ira Guha, 29, first began researching period poverty in India, she was astonished by the fact that nearly 50% of girls and women in developing countries cannot afford a safe period solution —‌ which leads to poor health outcomes and prevents them from going to school and work.

This very fact led her to create something that is changing thousands of women’s lives today along with protecting our precious planet.

_{I grew up in an unusual household in Bangalore. My mother is a designer and entrepreneur, and she was the main breadwinner in our family. She set an example that women can excel in their careers, have a family, and do whatever else they like. My father is a writer, and both my parents have always encouraged me to follow whichever path I want, which is what inspired me to start Asan.}
_{Ira Guha}

Ira Guha Mother Sujata Infano Sonali Sharma Writer — Ira with her mother, Sujata

Asan is an eco-friendly, sustainable and safe menstrual cup which Ira designed with her team from scratch.

Rewinding to 2017, when Ira was studying Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and was in her hometown for Christmas —‌ “My parents had a cook named Mary. I remember, when I was home, she missed work for 3-4 days. We thought she was unwell, but when I asked her, she told me that she had got very bad rashes and a UTI caused by low quality plastic sanitary pads,” Ira shares how shocked she was on hearing this. This led to her research on period poverty and putting together a team at Harvard to create a safe and sustainable menstrual product.

_{We spent two years researching and designing the Asan cup. The aim was to make a high-quality menstrual cup that is much easier to use compared with existing products. Our cup went through four rounds of user trials to ensure that every aspect of the design was perfected. It is leak-proof and has a unique removal ring, making it much easier to remove. Our design has registered rights in the US, UK, Europe and India.}

Currently, the most popular solution to the crisis of period poverty in India is to distribute low quality plastic sanitary pads. There are three issues with this solution. Firstly, pads tend to be uncomfortable, as they cause rashes and leaks. Secondly, they are expensive as women have to buy them every month. Thirdly, there is a huge environmental challenge as 12.3 billion plastic pads go to landfill every year.

“Asan’s mission is to solve these three problems. Firstly, we believe that every single woman (irrespective of income) deserves access to the highest quality and most comfortable period product. Secondly, we believe that period products should be made as low cost as possible (or ideally free) so that they do not make up a large part of the monthly household expense for low-income families. Thirdly, we are trying to eliminate the waste management challenge in villages, where it is extremely complicated and stressful to dispose of pads safely,” the Bengaluru based entrepreneur shares.

For every single purchase that Asan gets, it donates one menstrual cup for free to underprivileged rural girls and women Infano Sonali Sharma

“For this reason, Asan started the 1-for-1 donation scheme. For every single purchase that we get, we donate one Asan menstrual cup for free to underprivileged rural girls and women. We partner with highly experienced women’s health NGOs for our donations. In addition to distributing cups, we conduct menstrual health education workshops and train our beneficiaries on how to use the cup. Every beneficiary receives a user guide in their local language as well as an in-depth training video,” Ira further adds. Currently, the startup operates in English, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil languages.

Even before starting Asan, all Ira wanted was to bring a difference in society! She was 18 when she left Bengaluru to study Geography and Politics at the University of Cambridge. In 2017, she left her London-based corporate job to do a Masters in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. And that is when Asan was born! But creating something merely out of passion has never been possible —‌ “So far, we have not raised any investment. Our entire product development process was funded by prizes and grants,” Ira shares.

She was awarded first place in the King’s College Entrepreneurship Competition at the University of Cambridge (20,000 GBP prize) and received a Warner Fellowship grant from Harvard’s Women and Public Policy Program ($7,000 prize).

Asan launched its commercial sales in February 2021, and now, being post-revenue, will be raising an equity seed round to fund global expansion in the next 3-6 months.

After being in the business for quite some time, running Asan and observing rural women, one thing that Ira realized is how open-minded and independent women in rural India are!

“Very often we are told – “women don’t like to insert anything”, “rural women don’t know what a vagina is”, “women don’t want to try a new product”, “sanitary pads are the best solution”, etc. etc… However, these beliefs are misinformed and completely contrary to what we see in the field. From our own experience —‌ from distributing menstrual cups to conducting workshops —‌ we have found that, when given adequate information, rural women are extremely open-minded and make the best choice for their health and their body. We have women of all ages who use and love the Asan cup, including unmarried girls and teenagers,” Ira further continues.

Did you know that almost 70 per cent of the menstruating women in India can’t afford to buy sanitary napkins Sonali Sharm Infano Author Writer

So why are there so many misconceptions and hesitation in adopting menstrual cups? From my experience, I realized that either half of the girls/ women are misinformed, or half of the menstrual cup brands fail to live up to our expectations!!

Ira believes that for any entrepreneur looking to solve a challenge, scaling shouldn’t be the first priority. One must check and see if s/he can really solve the problem for one city or one community or even a person —‌ if you can perfect your solution even for a few people, it will be easy to scale.

“When I was developing the Asan cup, people always asked me – “why are you spending so long on product development? You have a prototype, now just start selling it because you need to scale”. However, I wasn’t ready to sell a product that was not perfect in every way —‌ it had to be comfortable, cause zero leaks, and be easy to use. It took 4 rounds of prototyping to get to that ‘perfect cup’. But yes, it was worth the effort, because now 100% of women who try our cup love it and recommend it to all their friends,” the 29YO CEO shares.

On asking her biggest regret, Ira says that it is not concentrating enough on her language skills, “growing up, we were encouraged to speak English both at home and in school. I can speak some Tamil, Kannada and Hindi but am not 100% fluent in any of these languages, and it has been an impediment for me when working in the field. Talking about periods is already difficult enough since it is a taboo subject; the language barrier makes it even more difficult!”

The startup feels grateful for having some amazing translators from the NGOs who make sure that all the information is delivered correctly and completely.

But then, hey, skills can always be improved and enhanced!!

And now that the team has achieved their proof of concept, Ira is planning to scale Asan. After stopping countless amounts of plastic ending up in landfill, getting thousands of underprivileged women their first-ever menstrual cup and saving many more Marys from UTI, Asan is partnering with new distributors to grow its sales in India. Ira will also be launching Asan in the UK and Europe soon.

The journey is long but will be more impactful. And as Ira gears up for the next phase of her journey, she encourages every woman to follow her heart, “don’t let anyone bring you down! Focus on the problem you are solving and create the best solution. Everything else is just noise!!”

You can visit Asan here or can connect via Facebook or Instagram.

Write your story to us and let the world get inspired by your wonderful journey!

This #MenstrualHygieneDay, #Infano along with #TheLogicalIndian, is addressing nuanced conversations on period centering on the well being of the menstruators as they power through every day. Share your experience with menstrual cups in the comments because your story can trigger an important aspect that we all need to know and talk about! #IPeriodMyWay #MHD2022

#periodproducts Menstrual Cups menstrual health menstrual health day menstrual hygiene day MHD 2022 Passion To Profession period sustainable periods women empowerment

Sonali

A 'non-9-5 desk job' ambivert geek who chooses her own audience, Sonali loves sharing stories and finding the corners where humanity still exists! She believes that every individual's story is unique and special. She loves writing about the untouched and unspoken segments of society. When not writing, you can find her listening to someone's stories or playing with dogs. Sonali values mental health and encourages people to speak their heart out!

Ten phrases you should never say to your kids.

Written By: Suhani Sharma

July 29, 2021 | 08:59 AM |

599

Highlights

The manner of communication with our kids has the potential to shape their personalities. We often don’t realize but the way we speak to them leaves a lasting impact on them.
Any comment on the physical appearance of kids is disrespectful.
Don’t instill unnecessary fears in a child’s mind to stop them from making mischief.
Comparing your kid’s growth or achievement to other kids is hostile and emotionally damaging.

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Parents can be the biggest cheerleaders as well as harshest critics of their children. In our defense I can say that all we want is to raise our kids in the appropriate way and sometimes we may take methods which are borderline abusive towards our kids. Healthy communication is the most important aspect of right parenting and it should not be compromised on any grounds.

The manner of communication with our kids has the potential to shape their personalities. We often don’t realize but the way we speak to them leaves a lasting impact on them. It won’t be an exaggeration when I say that parenting is all about how to communicate with kids, moreover what to say and what to refrain from.

Many adults suffering from anxiety and confidence issues trace back the origin of their problems to unhealthy and toxic communication with their families.

The world may not always be kind and appreciative towards your children. There will be bullying, mocking and discouragement. The home should be their safe haven.

Our communication with the kids influences the way they perceive the world around them.

We have enlisted ten phrases we should never tell our kids and what their impact is.

1. This colour/dress doesn’t look good on you-

Any comment on the physical appearance of kids is disrespectful. The kids may be little and unaware but they understand the sense of appreciation and criticism. It can be anything from “You don’t look good in this dress.” or “You should not wear white/black or any colour.” which may affect their self worth for a long time.

2. If you eat more, you will get fat-

Kids are not meant for following your fitness goals. They should not be submitted to cruel models of diets and fitness. Their age is to experiment with different tastes and relish them. You are also forcing down the wrong ideas of body image saying being fat is bad and thin is good.

Instead, tell them about how the food affects their health and say: “Eating too much of this can be unhealthy for you and we will eat just 2 spoons or a bowl.”

You can also say: “We have eaten this enough. Let’s try something new now.”

3. I told you so-

Making mistakes and learning from them is the way of life. That’s the way adults go about their lives too. We cannot expect our children to always be obedient and perfect. They ought to try their methods instead of always listening.

When we say “I told you so.” to them, we push them away from sharing their experiences with us.

The child may hesitate or get scared in sharing the consequences of their actions as they fear getting scolded or being looked down on.

Instead, tell them: “It’s ok, it happens. Try doing it the way Mumma/Papa told you for the next time.”

4. You can’t do this-

This could be the most discouraging phrase you can say to your children. Naturally, children try to attempt something purely out of curiosity and by being inspired by others. The most we can do is assist them in their attempt. Once they learn that a particular action is beyond their capacity, they will step back and wait for the right time. But what they will remember out of this will be your supporting attitude.

If we discourage kids at the first step, they will probably try to attempt it on their own and in your absence which is even more harmful.

So what you can say instead: ” Let me help you. It will be difficult for you to do it alone.”

5. She/ He is better than you-

Comparing your kid’s growth or achievement to other kids is hostile and emotionally damaging. It fills them with self-doubt, low confidence and even jealousy. Do we as adults like to be compared with our friends or colleagues? Your kid may start distancing from yourself emotionally with the guilt of not making you happy or proud.

Instead, work on their qualities and guide them in excelling in those.

6. Boys don’t cry or Don’t be a cry baby-

Tears and grief are not age or gender-specific. Crying is a healthy way of letting out one’s emotions and suppression of one’s emotion of sadness can lead to anger and aggression. When we stop our kids from crying, we are not only hampering their emotional growth but are also teaching them to pile up their feelings.

Studies show that many men who have temperament issues or are violent towards their partners have been stopped from expressing their anger and sadness through tears. Also, they believe that crying is an act of weakness and therefore they don’t respect the opposite gender.

Dr. Ishinna Sadana is a certified parenting expert and empowers parents to find positive ways of raising happy children @https://www.instagram.com/dr.ishinnasadana/

7. Girls/Boys don’t do this-

It’s the 21st century. Gender stereotypes have been thrashed and broken multiple times. Many parents now are choosing gender-neutral parenting.

Let your child do whatever they like doing irrespective of their gender.

It can start with something simple like letting your daughters play with monster trucks and buy your son a kitchen playset if he wants.

To read more about gender-neutral parenting, read https://infano.care/gender-neutral-parenting-parenting-beyond-stereotypes/

8. We can’t afford it-

If you as a family ever face financial difficulties, think a lot before disclosing it to the children.

Telling them that you can’t afford to buy a new toy for your kid is just not the right way to put it across, even as a casual joke.

It may cause fear and inferiority complex in them and they may start hiding their genuine needs from you.

Instead, try explaining that this will help you as a family to save for more important things.

9. If you don’t listen to me I will….

Parents often use the threat as a last resort to get their kids to behave the way they want but it’s not a healthy and long-term plan.

Also, it may backfire as kids get rebellious or its effect keeps on getting reduced.

Don’t instill unnecessary fears in a child’s mind to stop them from making mischief.

We all carry one or the other fear of our childhood into our adult life. It may be a fear of insects, ghosts or even a policeman.

Instead, tell them the reason you don’t want them to behave in a wrong way.

10. Go give a hug or kiss to them-

It looks adorable when tiny kids give a peck on your cheeks or hug you with their little arms. But don’t be in a misunderstanding, even infants and toddlers have a sense of comfort about their physical space.

Learn to respect their space and body.

Kids get the sense and vibes from others just like adults. Never force them to give a hug or kiss someone otherwise it may turn out very dangerous for the future.

Set and learn to respect their boundaries from the youngest age.

Always ask for their consent and try to teach them a sense of good and bad touch.

Ambica Agrawal is a parenting coach and she shares her wonderful insights through her instagram page @true_parenting_story

Child psychologists also believe that appreciating your kid at every small achievement with phrases like ‘good job’ can be detrimental to their emotional strength as they may get dependent on your appreciation for every little task.

Be respectful towards their feelings and emotions. Practice non-violent parenting.

What else do you think parents should refrain from saying to their kids? Share with us in the comments.

Suhani Sharma

Suhani is a Company Secretary by education but a writer by passion. She has studied film appreciation at FTII, Pune. She is an independent blogger and has been blogging on cinema for more than seven years.

She believes in open dialogues about the taboo subjects in society and with Infano she wants to encourage its readers to have a conversation around them.