Myna Mahila Foundation
Myna Mahila Foundation (MMF) is a Mumbai-based charity started in 2015 by Suhani Jalota. It aims to break the taboo around menstruation by encouraging open conversation and by making low-cost sanitary pads so that girls can stay in school. The name combines the talkative Myna bird with Mahila, the Hindi word for woman.
The foundation trains and employs women from Mumbai’s slums to produce affordable pads and sell them in their own communities, giving them stable work and helping improve menstrual hygiene.
Key milestones include Suhani Jalota being named Glamour magazine’s College Woman of the Year in 2016. In 2017, Meghan Markle wrote about MMF in Time magazine and highlighted Jalota in Glamour’s “The Ten Women Who Changed My Life.” In 2018, MMF was one of the charities Prince Harry and Meghan Markle nominated for wedding donations.
MMF also provides training in women’s health, English, math, and life skills such as self-defence. At one point, the foundation worked with about 3,000 customers and 35 employees (15 makers and 20 salespeople), with plans to reach 10,000 customers by the end of 2018. The support from the royal wedding was expected to help expand into urban slums in Mumbai.
Location: Mumbai, India
Website: mynamahila.com
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:05 (CET).