Women Gather in Mumbai to Reclaim Their Menopausal Journey
In early 2025, a remarkable gathering took place at an Upper Worli luxury venue in Mumbai. Forty-plus women came together with curiosity and determination. They sought to understand and recalibrate their menopausal experiences. This assembly provided a safe space to discuss what happens when your body undergoes dramatic changes.
Participants listened to experts, asked probing questions, and supported each other in an affirming circle. They left with gift bags containing various nutraceuticals. This offline event represented one of Mumbai's largest menopause communities.
The Birth of Menopausal Communities
Reflexologist and women's health advocate Rachel Kurien started this community in 2022. Originally called Menopausal Mumbai, it later became Menopausal Mates. Their WhatsApp support group remains highly active today. It regularly features useful expert opinions.
This group ranks as India's second largest menopause community online. Only Miror surpasses it with over 1500 members. Serial entrepreneur Sanjith Shetty founded Miror in 2023 as an offshoot of his menopause-focused Femtech company.
Voices Leading the Conversation
Two prominent speakers addressed the Mumbai gathering. TV host and actor Mini Mathur shared her experiences alongside lifestyle coach Lovina Gidwani. Gidwani founded Ageless with Lovina. Both women belong to Generation X.
Gidwani emphasized that menopause care involves distinct stages. She stated, "The first challenge requires explaining to women that they need not live with perimenopause and menopause symptoms. We should not simply accept these conditions."
Mathur launched Pauseitive to dismantle taboos surrounding menopause. She aims to normalize conversations about inevitable mid-life changes affecting women. Over chai at her Andheri West office, Mathur explained her advocacy motivation.
"The years leading to menopause, or perimenopause, suddenly made me feel unfamiliar with myself," Mathur revealed. "I once forgot my words before an audience, something that had never happened previously. This experience prompted obsessive reading about female ageing."
Mathur chose Menopause Hormone Therapy involving estrogen and progesterone replacement. She decided to share her acquired knowledge widely.
A National Conversation Unfolds
Over the past ten months, menopause discussions have gained significant momentum. While more forceful in affluent nations, India shows noticeable progress too. Generation X women primarily drive this essential dialogue.
Indian women experience menopause earlier than global averages. The typical age is 46 years compared to approximately 51 worldwide. Conversations that began online now transition into physical communities. Women unite around this unique yet universal experience.
Medical Professionals Join the Movement
In December, gynecologist Dr. Sukhpreet Patel opened Mumbai's first independent menopause care clinic at Nana Chowk. She gained millions of Instagram followers after starting @menopausewize in 2023 to raise awareness.
Dr. Patel described her personal journey. "My lifestyle was never unhealthy. I exercised and modified my diet during pre-menopausal years, yet symptoms persisted. When cholesterol parameters worsened and Dexa scan results appeared concerning, I knew action was necessary."
She revisited textbook chapters on menopause, realizing medical training offered minimal guidance. After extensive research, Dr. Patel began Hormone Replacement Therapy and shared insights on Instagram.
HRT, also called Menopause Hormonal Therapy, traditionally lacked popularity among Indian gynecologists. However, it has gained traction throughout the past year.
"Indian women experience earlier menopause," Dr. Patel observed. "Women consulting me often express frustration about not being heard." Middle-aged women still struggle to escape the "suffer silently" mindset regarding hormonal health.
Both doctors and symptomatic women frequently resist MHT. Dr. Patel believes perspectives will transform significantly within a decade.
Alternative Approaches Emerge
While HRT gained global popularity, non-HRT perspectives also gained attention. Dr. Srividya Gowri, a Chennai-based nutrition and lifestyle coach and former bodybuilder, represents this school.
"For me, HRT would constitute the last resort," Dr. Gowri stated. "Dietary modifications, exercise emphasizing strength training, and sustained lifestyle changes offer optimal solutions."
Entrepreneurs Enter the Space
'Meno-preneurs' represent a relatively quiet category within India's femtech sector. Swathi Kulkarni co-founded menopause solutions company Elda Health. She acknowledges menopause femtech remains uncharted and loss-making in India.
"This sector requires five to ten additional years to become profit-making VC businesses," Kulkarni estimated.
Sanjith Shetty, Miror's founder, shares this outlook. His company serves a wider customer base. "Over five years, I invested over ₹5 crore without breaking even," Shetty revealed. "We plan to persist through government initiative collaborations and market partnerships until clear demand emerges."
Investors Show Growing Interest
Investors continue engaging despite femtech companies opening and sometimes closing. Dilip Kumar represents Rainmatter Health, a venture funded by Zerodha group. He backed Gytree, a plant-based protein startup focusing on mid-life women's nutrition founded by Shaili Chopra.
"We feel excited about cheering solutions that help Indian women maintain health and fitness," Kumar expressed. "We've invested in several companies within this category."
Landmark Events Signal Change
In mid-2025, Shaili Chopra organized Fabulous Over Forty. This event marked India's first menopause and midlife wellness festival in Mumbai. Expert advice, personal stories, brand partnerships, and abundant hummus lunches characterized the one-day gathering.
Primarily urban women navigating menopause and midlife attended. Chopra also founded media company SheThePeople.
"Society celebrated women primarily for pregnancy while ignoring perimenopause and menopause," Chopra asserted. "This phase finds women leading careers, building companies, raising families, caring for ageing parents, and contributing maximally. This represents their prime, yet health remains shadowed."
"My initiative spotlights women's midlife and menopause health," she continued. "Nutrition can become the first step toward transforming and owning this powerful life phase."
The Larger Picture Emerges
Author Susan Sontag captured female ageing anxieties in her 1972 essay The Double Standard of Aging. She wrote, "Growing older is mainly an ordeal of the imagination — a moral disease, a social pathology." Sontag emphasized shifting focus toward medical and psychological inquiry.
Consider the mathematics behind this shift. Indian women typically experience menopause in their late forties. Life expectancy now extends into the seventies. Consequently, most Indian women will spend twenty-five to thirty years in post-menopausal states.
We successfully extended human lifespan without extending ovarian function. Indian women's life expectancy now reaches 70.3 years, gaining over two decades compared to fifty years ago. However, they experience worse health than men.
According to World Health Organization data, women over fifty constituted 26% of global females in 2021. This percentage increased from 22% just ten years earlier.
Demanding Fundamental Rethinking
This demographic shift necessitates fundamental reconsideration of women's health and menopause. Every other vital organ system receives extensive medical attention when failing. Treatments exist for heart disease, interventions for kidney dysfunction, and therapies for liver disorders.
Yet ovarian failure—essentially what menopause represents—affects metabolism, immune function, cardiovascular health, bone density, and cognitive performance. Society typically accepts this as inevitable rather than addressing it comprehensively.
Sanjukta Sharma, a Mumbai-based writer, contributes to this conversation through The Slow Fix. This knowledge platform focuses on preventive health and mindful living.
