The Period Warrior Who Turned Taboo into an Interesting Conversation.
When my daughter asked me about menstruation and pads, I was at a loss for words. How do you explain periods to an eight-year-old?
Her exact question was,
“Mama, what is that you are hiding and carrying to the toilet?”
I said it was a pad.
But she was curious and asked me why I needed it.
I told her because I was having my period.
She didn’t stop there. One question led to another.
I was tired. I didn’t want to give her the wrong answer or make her feel ashamed.
So I thought—maybe a book could help. A good one. One that explains periods in a simple, age-appropriate way.
That year, on her birthday, I gifted her Menstrupedia—a beautifully illustrated comic book that explains menstruation and female anatomy to curious children like her.
From Garhwa to Global Change
Menstrupedia’s creator, Aditi Gupta, grew up in Garhwa, a small town in Jharkhand. Like many girls, she faced all the classic menstrual taboos—don’t enter the kitchen, stay away from temples, don’t touch pickles, and dry your cloth pad in secret.
At age 12, when she got her first period, she was told to bathe with exactly two-and-a-half mugs of water so her cycle wouldn’t last long. Sanitary pads? It’s not an option because who would go buy them?
Design Meets Purpose
Years later, Aditi joined the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, where she met her future husband and creative partner, Tuhin Paul. When he saw her struggling every month and heard about her experiences, he began researching menstruation himself.
Together, they realised a massive gap in menstrual education and decided to do something about it.
For her final year project, Aditi designed a Hindi comic book to explain periods in a friendly, scientific, and culturally sensitive way.
That book became the seed of a movement.
Menstrupedia: Period Education, Made Simple
In 2012, Aditi and Tuhin co-founded Menstrupedia, a platform that uses comics, workshops, and digital resources to educate girls (and boys) about menstruation.
Since then, it has:
- Reached over 70,000 girls in India
- Been used in 75+ schools and 25+ NGOs
- Been translated into 8 Indian and 3 foreign languages
- Found readers in Nepal, South America, the Philippines, and beyond
Today, families like mine are using Menstrupedia to start open, healthy conversations about periods.
Normalising Periods at Home and School
Menstrupedia isn’t just for girls. Fathers, brothers, teachers, and grandfathers have also picked up the comic to help educate the young girls in their lives.
With over 1 lakh monthly visitors on its site and schools adopting its curriculum, Menstrupedia is changing the way India talks about periods.
It’s helping menstruation move out of the shadows—one conversation at a time.
“Saying the M-Word Out Loud” – Aditi’s Legacy
What makes Aditi Gupta a changemaker isn’t just her comic—it’s her courage to talk about what millions still avoid.
She took her personal pain and turned it into purpose.
As she says:
“Every story, each poem that a person shares, each voice that speaks against menstrual taboo, inspires me.”
Why Her Work Still Matters
Yes, we now have ads saying “she touched the pickle!”
But let’s not forget: millions of girls in India still don’t have access to basic menstrual hygiene, and even more grow up thinking periods are dirty or shameful.
That’s why voices like Aditi Gupta’s matter. She gave us a tool—Menstrupedia—and a much-needed message: Periods are natural. Knowledge is power. Let’s stop whispering and start talking.