On Eradicating Period Poverty - A Conversation with Ira Guha

In today’s episode, I have a fascinating conversation with Ira Guha who is the founder of Asan. Asan is a social venture with a mission to eradicate period poverty, which prevents women and girls across the world from participating in essential daily activities (Including going to school and work).

In our conversation, we talk about the impact of period poverty and how Asan cup’s accessibility has the ability to impact the lives and empower the women who use them. We also discuss the seemingly taboo subject of women’s health, especially relating to periods, and how the social shifts we have made towards sustainability globally have made an impact on the future of menstrual products.

Show notes:

To find out more about Asan, head over to their ⁠website⁠ and ⁠Instagram page⁠. To connect with Ira and find out about the impact that Asan is making within the many communities that they have partnered with, connect with her on LinkedIn.

Be sure to ⁠⁠⁠visit our podcast website⁠⁠⁠ for the full episode transcript, and connect with us: narrativespodcast@gmail.com.

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Episode timestamps

00:26 - Episode introduction

02:32 - Asan's mission and Ira's motivations to create the start-up

06:39 - Asan cup's one-for-one donation and cost-saving model

07:58 - Designing and developing the Asan cup

12:12 - Asan's impact in rural India and beyond

14:28 - Breaking the taboos around periods

17:46 - Asan's partnerships and behavioural change framework

24:45 - Ira's entrepreneurial journey

26:36 - The evolving market for reusable period products

31:34 - How to connect with Ira and learn more about Asan