More than 800 million women and girls bleed from menstruation each day. However, cases of period poverty across South Asia remain high. For example, in India, estimates show that period poverty affects around 40% of women.  In other countries, like Bangladesh, according to WaterAid, period poverty impacts 94% of the female population as a result of unsuitable “menstrual hygiene management (MHM)” and provisions due to ingrained stigmas and poor menstrual health facilities, leaving women and girls to suffer with economic and social impacts.

Particularly in schools, MHM sees 32% of girls who experience a period saying that they would not use school toilets due to poor facilities and stigma. This translates to 40% of girls missing out on school due to their periods. However, across the region, initiatives, including Bollywood celebrities and influencers, are stepping up to challenge these barriers, leveraging their influence to address period poverty and reshape attitudes through events and awareness.

Bollywood’s Neha Dhupia’s GoFlo Run

The cultural powerhouse that is Bollywood has become a crucial tool for advocacy in the fight against period poverty across South Asia. Actress Neha Dhupia’s “GoFlo Run” held its inaugural event in Mumbai in December 2024 to tackle period poverty by blending physical activity with public awareness. The event drew thousands of women, alongside prominent Bollywood figures such as actor Sonu Sood and actress Soha Ali Khan. Neha said of the event that she felt they had “taken a baby step towards creating a healthier world for women and girls.”

Participants at the event began with a Zumba warm up and then went on to run anywhere from three to 10 kilometers as a way of raising awareness and engendering a supportive environment, with runners highlighting how taboos and lack of menstrual hygiene facilities contribute to young girls dropping out of school and the need to normalise conversations about menstrual health.

By marrying Bollywood’s cultural influence with grassroots efforts, such initiatives amplify the message that menstruation is not a barrier but a stepping stone to empowerment. Beyond this, larger organisations, such as UNICEF, are partnering with South Asian influencers to further awareness and combat period poverty across South Asia, including in India and Bangladesh.

The Red Dot Challenge

With the support from UNICEF, Diipa Khoosla partnered with the Red Dot Challenge campaign to raise awareness and dismantle misconceptions about menstruation, with research showing that less than 30% of girls in India learn about periods before their first cycle. The initiative highlights the urgent need for education, whilst the campaign’s annual celebration, with the support of influencers and celebrities, sparks conversation about ongoing challenges, especially in rural areas. Underscoring the importance of continued dialogue and community involvement, those who partake in the event hope that the Red Dot can one day be transformed “from a challenge to be overcome into a celebration to be embraced.”

Stop the Stigma

Complementary programs, such as Water Aid’s “Stop the Stigma” in Bangladesh, also address period poverty across countries in South Asia. This scheme tackles the issue at the grassroots level. The project focuses on 10-24-year-old girls and women to empower them through education, whilst engaging male family members and the wider community to foster acceptance and challenge stigmas. The project uses technology to give advice and support about menstrual health and hygiene through an app, currently in 12 schools, and has, so far, helped more than 12,000 girls facing inadequate facilities and education. Many of these initiatives have impacts beyond improving period poverty, as, in the long term, they can see economic improvements for individuals and communities.

From Period Poverty to Economic Empowerment

Period poverty across South Asia can mean many things, including inadequate access to period products. For example, in Bangladesh, more than 50% of women have no access to clean period products, however, organizations like Cordaid are training women in rural areas to produce reusable sanitary pads using surplus fabric. Initiatives like this do not just provide a sustainable solution to overcoming menstrual hygiene barriers, they also help to provide a livelihood for women and normalize menstruation as a health concern, rather than a taboo.

So far, this entrepreneurial model has trained women from 12 different districts in Bangladesh, helping them to not only generate income —trainees earn approximately $110 monthly— but also allowing them to move forward as entrepreneurs to train other women — both expanding the initiative and the economic advantages.

Furthermore, school-based interventions such as pad banks facilitate menstrual equity among students, reducing absenteeism and breaking cycles of stigma. The success of such practical, scalable programs underscores the role of community-driven solutions in combating period poverty across South Asia, and the role that breaking period poverty can have on improving the economic landscape, both in Bangladesh and across the wider region of South Asia.

Period Poverty in South Asia

Bollywood is considered to be a driving force behind India’s “soft power” and, therefore, an effective tool in raising awareness about social issues like period poverty in India and across South Asia. Whilst challenges persist, UNICEF states that as a result of different initiatives, information is freer, with campaigns giving way to more accepting attitudes, including seeing more menstrual products being openly promoted on TV, and shops being able to sell products without feeling the need to conceal them.

The collaboration between Bollywood-led initiatives and grassroots campaigns exemplifies a holistic approach to menstrual equity. While celebrities like Neha Dhupia use their platforms to spotlight the issue, community-led efforts in Bangladesh demonstrate how local engagement drives meaningful change. Together, these movements challenge societal norms and foster a more accepting dialogue around menstruation by raising awareness using celebrityhood, whilst putting practical methods in place to empower every woman and girl across South Asia, and pull them out of period poverty, once and for all.

– Amber Lennox

Amber is based in Suffolk, UK and focuses on Good News and Celebs for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr