Baala
Baala is a groundbreaking social enterprise working across India and parts of Africa to transform menstrual health into a conversation rooted in dignity, equity, and opportunity. Recognizing that period poverty and stigma cause millions of girls and women to miss school and work, Baala takes a holistic approach by providing affordable, sustainable menstrual products—including pads that can be reused for up to two years—while simultaneously breaking down harmful taboos through awareness workshops. The organization has reached over one million women and girls, trained thousands of community educators, and is building a grassroots network of female entrepreneurs to create lasting, local change.
SOUMYA DABRIWAL
Soumya Dabriwal is a social entrepreneur and the Co-Founder of Baala, which she started at just 19 after witnessing girls in Ghana, South Africa, and rural India missing school due to their periods. A BSc Economics (Hons) graduate of the University of Warwick, Soumya built the venture from the ground up, designing affordable, reusable sanitary pads that would later form the backbone of a movement reaching millions. Her groundbreaking work has earned her numerous accolades, including being named a Forbes 30 Under 30 India honoree, an Acumen Fellow, and a Global Good Fund Fellow.
ARADHANA RAI GUPTA
Aradhana Rai Gupta is a powerhouse of impact, serving as the Co-Founder of Baala where she drives growth, innovation, and systemic change in women's health. A childhood friend of Soumya, Aradhana brings a formidable blend of business acumen and development expertise to the partnership, holding an MBA from Cornell University and having honed her skills at Procter & Gamble and EY before deepening her focus on sustainability at the University of Cambridge. Recognized alongside Soumya on the Forbes 30 Under 30 India list, her leadership has been celebrated by global platforms including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID
Project Baala is taking reusable pads and menstrual hygiene to women and girls in rural areas.
Menstrual hygiene management and access to sanitary napkins is a basic necessity many women across the world do not have access to. According to the Ministry of Health’s 2016 data, only 12 percent women in India have access to sanitary napkins while a majority of them relied on outdated, unhygienic methods during menstruation. To tackle the the lack of access to proper menstrual facilities and awareness about menstrual hygiene and health in rural areas, Soumya Dabriwal started Project Baala in 2016.
Soumya was a student at the University of Warwick, England when she volunteered in Haryana and Ghana as a teacher. During this time, she discovered the common side of menstrual hygiene problems in both countries. Troubled by girls missing out on school and following unhygienic practices like using cloth rags, Soumya started the social initiative while she was still in college.
After returning to India in August 2016, she took up a job at a development company but continued to run Project Baala. However, while working in various rural areas, she understood the magnitude of the problem and after seeing the response to her project, she quit her job in 2017 to focus on Project Baala full time. In 2018, she was joined by Aradhana Rai Gupta, a Cornell alumna who helps co-lead the organisation. Both the 24-year-olds visit villages and urban slums and distribute Baala pads and impart menstrual hygiene awareness to women and girls.
Read more at: https://yourstory.com/herstory/2020/04/project-baala-reusable-pads--menstruation-rural-women-girls
