Menopause Support Circles Emerge in India, Breaking Decades of Silence | Quick Digest
Gen X women in India are spearheading a movement to destigmatize menopause, creating vital support communities. With Indian women experiencing menopause earlier and living longer post-menopausal, these circles offer crucial information and sisterhood, transforming a once-taboo subject into an open conversation.
Indian Gen X women are actively initiating menopause conversations.
Menopause typically occurs earlier in Indian women, around 46-48 years.
Women spend 25-30 years post-menopause, necessitating better support.
Offline and online communities like 'Menopausal Mates' and 'Miror' are thriving.
Public figures like Mini Mathur are advocating for menopause awareness.
Increased dialogue addresses long-standing societal taboos around women's midlife health.
The Mint article, published on January 18, 2026, highlights a significant cultural shift in India where Generation X women are actively breaking the long-standing silence surrounding menopause. This movement is fostering a sense of community and support for women navigating this life stage. The article emphasizes that Indian women generally experience menopause earlier, typically between 46 and 48 years of age, which is notably sooner than the global average of 51 years. Given that female life expectancy in India now extends into the early 70s, many Indian women will spend a substantial 25-30 years in a post-menopausal state.
The narrative describes the emergence of support networks, exemplified by a gathering in Mumbai of women over 40 who sought to understand and recalibrate their menopausal journeys. This led to the formation of 'Menopausal Mumbai,' later rebranded as 'Menopausal Mates,' initiated in 2022 by reflexologist and women's health advocate Rachel Kurien. Their active WhatsApp group is a testament to the demand for such platforms. Another prominent example is 'Miror,' a FemTech platform and India's largest online menopause community, boasting over 1,500 members since its launch in March 2023.
Public figures are also contributing to this growing discourse. TV host and actor Mini Mathur, for instance, founded 'Pauseitive' to normalize conversations around menopause and its often-challenging symptoms. She advocates for Menopause Hormone Therapy (MHT), which involves hormone replacement, and is dedicated to disseminating knowledge about women's aging. This collective effort signifies a crucial step towards dismantling cultural taboos and ensuring that women receive the awareness, access, and support needed to navigate menopause confidently, rather than in isolation.
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