SheCup is Genius

SheCup is developed by MediAceso Healthcare Pvt. Ltd, which is a Social Enterprise based out of Mumbai, India. Their area of work is Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) and they conduct MHM educational programs for girls/women and also men, both in the Rural & Urban sector. These programs are conducted in Educational Institutes, Women Social Groups, Housing Societies, Corporate offices, Medical Institutions etc. In these programs they impart education on the biological process of menstruation, the related health & hygiene issues, the myths around menstruation and how to manage health and hygiene during menstruation in a healthy and environmentally sustainable manner.

What was the whole thought process behind the Shecup?

Basically we working on cervical cancer and in that process one of the reason we found unhealthy menstrual cycle which happened within women was because of lack in resources. At the same time we found learnt about the concept of the menstrual cup abroad. After that, we started working on it and found the design and began to manufacture in India.

Where do most women go wrong as far as menstrual hygiene and care is concerned?

Because of the lack of education and knowledge. We have been conducting menstrual health management programme from 2010 in schools, college and corporate. We spoke to more than 45000 women. They were not able to answer even up to a corporate level.

People in India are still not aware of tampons as compared to sanitary napkins. How would you promote the Shecup with regards to this aspect?

Sanitary pads are advertised because they don’t have a direct implication to it. Tampons have a TSS problem and because of that, the advertising is not taken in a higher level. Most of the companies which promote disposable sanitary protections are multinational companies. They have their own strategies about different countries. Tampons being a little expensive are preferred less. When you consider the Shecup, they are all absorbent collecting devices. This is a reusable product. Even after launching the product in 2010 till date, it is still a concept and not a product. Thanks to the media, it has become more vocal than the past two years and they have started concentrating on all these things along with helping with editorials which emphasize more on this subject. The audience is also considering the shift. Not all of them but those people who are Eco-friendly, reducing the carbon footprints and the Swachh Bharat campaign followers are moving towards the idea. In this case you don’t generate wastes. You can definitely look for change or convenience

What does this product offer that isn’t available with sanitary napkins or tampons?

Any sanitary protection you take into consideration as a lady, you are given four factors;

1. Health and Hygiene

2. Convenience

3. Eco-friendly

4. Economic

Can you name any sanitary protection which would give you all the mentioned?

That is where the Shecup emerges. It would provide you with all the components. You don’t have to keep disposing it. Only one can work for days. It is made out of non toxic and non allergic silicon. We have conducted implementation tests. Theoretically even if the cup stays in the body for 29 days, there won’t be a problem. But because blood is a very good medium for bacterial infection, we recommend not using it more than 12 hours.

What alternatives do women in rural areas use? How safe are they?

That depends on what method they are using. It starts from paper, grass, cow dung, sea sponge, cloth, rags and disposable products. When you use these materials, it is unhygienic. In metropolitan cities there are still women who are not familiar with that subject so do you think that our rural females will be? What the women here do is, they wash these cloth and put it in the shed. If the put it out in the sunlight, it gets naturally disinfected. But if you put it in a shady area, there are chances if organisms to get it infected. There was a study conducted by two economists where they have tried different products with 950 women in 60 villages of Bihar. They were not exposed to any of these products before. After introducing the menstrual Shecups, the acceptability of the cups was high.

How is the cup eco-friendly?

Eco-friendly is a terminology with regards to ‘how much is it eco friendly?’ and ‘what kind of eco-friendly?’ we can say that paper is eco friendly but basically it is made out of cutting trees and wood. But we still agree that paper is eco friendly. We try to follow the concept of ‘What is more evil than the other.’ if you say that a lady in her lifetime is going to use 10,000-12,000 pads and will dispose them, which amounts to 250 cubic feet of landfill. These napkins when disposed off, take 8 – 10 years to open up and 500-800 years to bio degrade because it is made out of synthetic material which is industrial waste. If it doesn’t bio degrade, it will form granules and start leaking.

Ever since we launched the Shecup in 2010, no one has ever come up to us and said their cup was damaged or they need a new one. They have only told us that they were bored of it. (laughs) and it can be used for months. So compared to the other products, it really is eco-friendly.

Are there any women who shouldn’t use a menstrual cup?

Not really. Earlier the cups were made out of latex which is why they didn’t do well. A lot of women have difficulty with latex. Now the cup is made out of non toxic silicon. And we haven’t had any issues as such yet because this is the same medical silicon material which is used for implants. For women who menstruate normally, there would be no backlash. A lady suffering from cervical cancer, who continuously bleeds may have a problem. I suggest that they take advice from their gynecologist before using the Shecup as an alternative. People suffering from vaginitis, where the canal is being infected, there is a chance of further damage.

How are you spreading the awareness of these cups?

We are a socio-economic company. We have all volunteered for this project. We have a limited reach because some or the other person is working for different organizations as well. We are now trying to address the Shecup in exhibitions and social media. But apart from this, the biggest support, I personally feel will come from the media. Our pockets are not that deep where we run like multinational companies who have a commercial reach.

As far as statistics are concerned, what is the conversion ratio?

As I said before, it is still a concept. When we started it, we would be joyous even if one of them were sold. Since the last two years, the media has become vocal about it and there are groups and the word is being put out for the public ears. There are a lot of groups and users on social media who have started talking about it. It ranges around 300-500 cups in a month now. Earlier we used meet people and they wouldn’t believe what we had to offer. Now there is more awareness towards it. There has been so many times where they would convert their choice to the Shecup. The statistics have gone up to 37% because of the government is freely supplying the Shecup to the audience. But it would be a lot more beneficial or us when the individual will go out and buy it themselves.

Is it pocket friendly as compared to other menstrual products?

Maybe in a year, a lady ends up spending around rupees 800-1000. When it comes to SheCups, I would say that the lady is earning rather than spending.

As different women have different body types, what would you say about the right fit?

There are companies who manufacture different sizes with their menstrual cups but we very cautiously took a decision along with the help of gynecologists where we designed one single cup. We didn’t want confuse women. Because it was a new concept to begin with, we didn’t want to puzzle them even further. We made sure it was free size. We even have a report on our website where a gynecologist has conducted the tests with women from the age of 13-19 as well as elderly women.

How should one go about selection of the right cup? If you could also explain a bit about the female reproductive system. Since the cup goes inside the body, many women find its insertion intimidating and are afraid that they will lose it inside.

It depends on individual criteria. We don’t provide colours as such. It isn’t fashion apparel. The size of the cup which we have designed suits an Asian woman body. It also depends on how much knowledge our consumers have and the specifications they are looking for. Of late because of the media there is always a new brand which keeps coming up. So according to me it is all on the individual.

What message/advice would you like to give to those women who are contemplating a switch from sanitary napkins and tampons to menstrual cups?

We regularly get messages from users, who don’t even know us, saying ‘God bless you, Team Shecup.’ There are a lot of people who keep writing to us, national as well as internationally. These people have found the Shecup to be so convenient and appreciable. People have found this as an easier and cheaper way to keep for a cleaner flow. The Shecup does all o the work. It is according to the individual how they use it properly.

What other initiatives are you looking forward to deal with?

We started the activity with cervical cancer and now the circle has been completed. But we have come back on the same issue again. When we started Shecup, we realized there is so many other issue that have to addressed. That’s where we started the MHS program. There were people who flash their cards and claim to be MHS experts which are why we went a back to cervical cancer.

We are also conducting plantation drive where we have taken a target of planting a fruit forest in a small region in Maharashtra. We have a target of planting 1 lakh different fruit trees. By now we have planted around 8,000 tress along with maintaining them. Apart from this, we are convincing the woman in a small village in Rajasthan to switch to the Shecup, with the help of nursing homes and medical collages, so that the entire area become menstrual sanitary free.

You aid young women in Kolkata who can’t finance themselves for the products along with cancer treatment. Can you tell us more about that?

In Sonagachi, the largest red light area of Asia, we have established a small Sheclub there for girls, daughters of the sex workers and prostitutes who don’t want to be in the profession anymore. We have trained them for cervical cancer on colposcope, which is a machine which helps in screening for cervical cancer. We conduct these tests free of cost for these women. Apart from this, we also educate them on reproduction and counselling them to avoid any traumatic cases. This club has been functioning full fledge since last November.

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