Her Story:
Mahuma Bhandari is a twenty-four year old Indian growth marketer who is strongly passionate about sexual and menstrual health advocacy. She became a certified peer educator at a young age and is currently a certified 91 SAFE RESCUER. She was recently chosen to become the country ambassador of India for State of Youth, which is a digital platform empowering youths and their rights.
Why and when did you become an advocate?
Honestly, what made me advocate for this cause was the stigma around it. I am grateful enough to be born in a family where I can openly talk about menstruation, however many people around me can't. The moment that made me realize that there should be an open dialogue about menstruation was when one of my female students (in an NGO, where I used to volunteer) got her period and she did not know anything about it. The fact that the innocent kid thought it was a "bad thing" happening to her, shook me to my core and that's when I decided to be an advocate to end period stigma and period poverty.
How has advocating for sexual health been an empowerment tool for you?
It has made me help so many women realize that periods are normal and natural. It has empowered me to be open about it and embrace it fully, rather than talking about it in whispers or not talking about it at all. Sexual health and menstrual health are an important part of a human being's life and it definitely is not one to be sush about. It has also empowered me to talk to women in slums and assure them that maintaining menstrual hygiene is as important as eating food and there is nothing to be ashamed of. In the act of empowering other women by educating them, I have ended up educating myself more and be a better version of myself.