Pinkishe Foundation: an NGO for women ending period poverty through pad distributions

MENSTRUATION is a natural process of the human reproductive system. It is an essential process required to procreate and continue the survival of the human species. But for reasons that people have not been able to overcome for millenia, it is often considered taboo and off-limits to acknowledge, let alone discuss. Because menstruation is considered a taboo topic, the crucial needs of girls and women are not addressed, according to and NGO for women – Pinkishe Foundation. What changes occur during menstruation? Do girls and women have access to what they require? What is the impact of not receiving what they need? These questions remain largely unanswered because people are not encouraged to talk about periods and the result is that girls and women continue to needlessly suffer.

Since 2017, Pinkishe Foundation has been working with girls and women from impoverished communities to spread awareness on menstrual health and distribute period products. This NGO for women is focused on the development and well being of Indian girls and women and it starts by meeting their menstrual needs. For the past seven years, the NGO for women has distributed over 3,450,000 sanitary pads and provided support to more than 416,600 girls and women across India. In the effort to raise awareness about menstruation amongst the public, Pinkishe Foundation has conducted over 2,080 workshops to normalize periods and help countless girls and women in India have better menstrual health. 

What is menstruation?

Every 28 days, the female human body creates a protective layer inside the uterus which will help a baby grow and develop. When the ovaries release eggs into the uterus and an egg is not fertilized, that protective layer of the uterus exits the body in the form of blood. That’s all a period is. Pinkishe Foundation is an NGO for women that helps people understand this process and how normal menstruation is. In spreading awareness on menstruation, this NGO for women helps break stereotypes and normalize periods.

The mission of Pinkishe Foundation

Khyati Gupta is the founder of this NGO for women and explains that without period products, girls and women are forced to use dirty cloth, newspaper, thermocol, hay and cow dung during their periods. This worsens their health and can lead to infections and diseases that can have devastating consequences on their overall health. Khyati goes on to explain that “in villages and tribal areas, girls and women cannot afford sanitary pads. Because of this, girls and women develop rashes and urinary tract infections and these illnesses at times turn into cancer as well. Out of all the cervical cancer cases in the world, almost one-fourth of them occur in India. A major reason for that is that women are unable to maintain hygiene during periods.” To support Pinkishe Foundation, you can donate here.

How a 16 year old girl founded an NGO for women

When Khyati Gupta, the founder of this NGO for women, was just 16 years old, she saw that her household help’s daughter had blood stains on her dress. When Khyati asked her about it, she discovered that they could not afford sanitary products, so they used scraps of waste cloth to help manage her blood flow. This awakened something within Khyati, who started doing her own research on the state of menstrual health amongst rural and impoverished communities. Khyati learned that because of extreme poverty, girls and women use objects and materials such as sand and dry leaves to manage their periods and cannot afford sanitary pads, which can cost as little as ₹5. 

Khyati Gupta spoke to her father about it and asked his help to establish Pinkishe Foundation, an NGO for women that will help normalize menstruation and give girls and women from poor backgrounds menstrual products. What started as a project with just two people soon grew into a community of 200,000 female volunteers across India with one single mission: that no girl or woman has to face menstrual challenges alone. 

Pinkishe Foundation’s current goal

Khyati Gupta and her NGO for women have identified 5,000 women from impoverished communities who are in desperate need of menstrual care and period products. Pinkishe Foundation will provide free sanitary pads to these girls and women and help them manage their periods using healthy products that will not cause them any harm. Khyati shares that “because of poverty, these women are unable to afford sanitary pads and their futures are bleak. Proper menstrual care, which is actually a right, has become a dream.”

Is it fair that something as natural as periods becomes a curse for so many impoverished women? Khyati asks.

Who does this NGO for women help? 

Pinkishe Foundation focuses on helping girls and women in the 12 to 50 age group from rural and underserved areas across India. The communities that these girls and women are from have many financial challenges that lead to a lack of access to healthcare, education and basic rights. In such communities, there are many taboos and superstitions surrounding menstruation that make it impossible for girls and women to receive the care required to have safe periods. 

But this stigma against periods affects more than their menstrual health. It also prevents girls from going to school and participating in society. This excludes girls and women from being a part of daily life in their communities and has a negative impact on their lives. But the mission of this NGO for women is to find a solution to this problem by opening up the conversation on periods, distributing free sanitary pads, breaking down the barriers girls and women face and empowering them to live with dignity and equal access to their rights. 

Support Pinkishe Foundation on Give.do

When you support Pinkishe Foundation on Give.do, you help distribute sanitary pads to underprivileged girls and women who otherwise are forced to use unhealthy objects and materials to manage their blood flow. To support Pinkishe Foundation, you can donate here.

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