Maya Vishwakarma

Maya Vishwakarma (, born October 13, 1982) is an Indian social activist and entrepreneur known for her work on menstrual hygiene awareness in rural and tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh. She is also known as the "Padwoman of India". She founded the Sukarma Foundation in 2016 to address menstrual health issues, provide low-cost sanitary napkins, and promote rural development.

Early life and education Maya Vishwakarma was born in Mehragaon village in the Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh, India, on October 13, 1982 in a Vaishwakarmana sect family. She grew up with limited access to information about menstruation, considered a taboo and significant health challenge in India. She has stated that she did not use sanitary pads until age 26 due to lack of access and awareness.

After completing high school, she attended Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya (RDVV University) in Jabalpur, earning Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biochemistry. She conducted Master's thesis work at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS) in Nuclear Medicine and later worked there as a Junior Research Fellow. Subsequently, she worked in cancer biology research, focusing on leukemia, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She was also inspired by Arunachalam Muruganantham, known for inventing a low-cost sanitary pad machine. The foundation works to increase awareness of menstrual hygiene, aiming to reduce associated stigma and educate women on health risks like RTIs, UTIs, and potential links to Cervical cancer. A key activity is the manufacture and distribution of low-cost sanitary napkins under the brand name "No Tension".

Political career Vishwakarma contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the Narmadapuram constituency as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate, but was not elected. In July 2022, she was elected unopposed as the Sarpanch (village council head) of the Saikheda Gram Panchayat in Narsinghpur district.

Awards and recognition Vishwakarma is sometimes referred to as the "Padwoman of India" or "Pad-Jiji" (Pad Sister). In 2020, she received the Devi Award for her menstrual hygiene awareness work.