The (Em)Power List 2018: Aditi Gupta

33, Social Entrepreneur

Who hasn’t had to walk out of the chemist’s shop with their hygiene essentials tightly packed in a brown paper bag, as though they’re buying something unmentionable? This social entrepreneur took on the taboos and myths behind periods around half a decade ago when she conceived of and launched Menstrupedia, an online platform dedicated to educating the public about periods, and later a comic of the same name — a comprehensive guide on periods which is today used in over 250 schools around the country. The comic books have also been distributed in Nepal, Nigeria and South America. With the aim of normalising menstruation, Aditi Gupta also put her degree in new media from NID to good use by opening up physical forums on the topic across towns and villages along the way. And this is much before the Hindi film industry jumped on the bandwagon with movies like Phullu (2017) and Padman (2018). Though she hopes that Menstrupedia will also allow people to address many other gender-specific issues openly in the future, this World Economic Forum Global Shaper considers it a win when women feel free to talk about their menstrual cycles in public.

“It’s amazing that it’s taken so long for someone to start such an initiative, but better late than never! People like Aditi Gupta remind us that a good idea and a noble outlook can go a long way — getting people from different generations who shy away from talking about sex and periods, to broach the topic with others is a very big deal!”
– Aditi Shah, 26, Psychologist, Mumbai

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