The Myna Mahila Foundation (MMF) is an Indian organization which empowers women by encouraging discussion of taboo subjects such as menstruation, and by setting up workshops to produce low-cost sanitary protection to enable girls to stay in school. It was founded by Suhani Jalota in 2015 while she was studying at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. The foundation's name comes from the Myna bird, famously talkative, and the word "Mahila" for "Woman". In 2016 ''

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'' magazine listed the foundation's founder Jalota as one of its "College Women of the Year". It was one of the seven organisations nominated by Prince Harry and

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

to receive donations in lieu of wedding presents when the couple married on 19 May 2018. In 2017 Markle wrote an article about the foundation for '' Time'' magazine, with the title "How Periods Affect Potential", after a trip to Delhi and Mumbai with World Vision where she met and shadowed women involved. The same year Markle included the foundation's founder Jalota in a list of "The Ten Women Who Changed My Life" in ''

'' magazine.

Purpose

Apart from encouraging conversations around taboo subjects such as menstruation, the foundation provides stable employment to women dwelling in slums by encouraging them to manufacture low cost sanitary napkins that they can sell back into their communities at a fraction of the cost, thus improving menstrual hygiene of the communities too and empowering the women.

Current work

With about 3000 customers, the foundation employs about 35 women, 15 of whom work as manufacturers and the other 20 work as saleswomen for the product. They expect to reach 10000 customers by the end of 2018. It also empowers its staff by training them in women's health, English, Math, and life skills such as self-defence. On the support received via the royal wedding, founder Jalota said that it would further help them expand their reach into the urban slums in Mumbai.

References

External links

* Foundations based in India Women's organisations based in India Menstrual cycle Organizations established in 2015 2015 establishments in Maharashtra {{India-org-stub