Ideation

The main conundrum is that there are a few non-government organizations that are conducting workshops by giving talks on menstrual health and hygiene. Women are being bombarded with information but not much is being retained. This was clearly evidenced through research. They are introduced to new concepts and it almost feels like a form of colonization because the solutions ofen disregard their beliefs and culture. Afer setting the objectives, the researcher dived into brainstorming about possible solutions, keeping cultural sensitivity in mind.

Most women in slums are not literate and those who are have only completed their primary education in a regional language. It was of paramount importance to create a service that is based on visuals and experiences as these will be retained by women for a longer and make it easier to introduce behavioural changes without making them feel less abled.

Reflections: Co-designing and ideating with women was extremely difficult as I had limited access. For the first round, I reached out to people working closely with women to collect feedback from them. In the second round of testing, I reached out to women in slums from my domestic help and also one ASHA worker and doctor in the NBT Nagar Slum.