Periods, menstrual dignity & South Asians with Binti founder

The theme of this episode of Masala Podcast is Periods.On this episode I speak to Manjit K. Gill, CEO & Founder of the period charity Binti. Her mission is to create a huge, social impact whilst generating a sustainable organisation. As a British Indian, providing basic menstrual rights for women in India has become her obsessive, compulsive dedication to making a change.Binti is a registered charity, with a mission to provide menstrual dignity to all girls, all over the world. This means facilitating access to pads to ensure menstrual hygiene, educating girls about what menstruation is and what they can expect from it, and dispelling stigma, taboos, myths and negative perceptions around menstruation.Binti is headquartered in the UK, and currently runs projects in India, Kenya, Swaziland and the U.S., as well as at home in the UK. Manjit& I talk about the stigma attached to periods in South Asian culture. Not just in South Asian countries but here in the UK where some families don’t let girls go to the temple or attend weddings when they’re on their period.I talk about the first time I got my period, and my traumatic memories around that time.Masala Podcast is a show for South Asian women, where we talk about all those things that we’re NOT supposed to talk about in our culture. Sex, sexuality, periods, menopause, mental health, shame, sexual harassment and many more taboos.  More about Binti: Website: https://bintiperiod.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/binti_period Insta: https://www.instagram.com/binti.period/  Producer: Hana Walker-Brown Multi-Award-Winning Documentary Maker + Composer Executive Producer at Amazon Audible www.hanawalkerbrown.com Music Credit: Sunny Robertson @sunnyrobertsonmusics  FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MY PLATFORM SOUL SUTRASWebsite: https://soulsutras.co.uk Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Soul_Sutras Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulsutras/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoulSutrasNetwork/ Click here to join the Soul Sutras newsletter:https://soulsutras.us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=ddd9c3fdfeb58cecbc5d8a6b2&id=99fbec55d9Mentioned in this episode:Inspiring feminist memoir Bad DaughterBad Daughter is my story of going from Mumbai’s slums to New York’s Billboards, with a healing stopover in Kerala. But it’s your story too. It doesn’t matter where you come from, it doesn’t matter what happened to you. You still get to have the life you want. That's the message of this book. My memoir Bad Daughter is deeply personal. I talk about growing up in poverty. I talk about my father’s violence, my mother’s murder. I talk about how I turned my pain into power, navigating mental health, sexuality, spirituality & patriarchy. If you’re looking for a book to move you and inspire you to change your own life, buy this book on Amazon: https://shorturl.at/TDC7g. Or buy directly on my website: https://baddaughter.co.uk/about/ Bad Daughter is an essential feminist book, this inspirational memoir is for every woman who wants to break free. This powerful memoir is a reminder that the courage to be your authentic self can transform your own life – and the lives of those around you.