ZAAKIRA MAHOMED, 48
Co-founder: Mina Foundation Zaakira Mahomed is the founder of Mina,an organisation on a mission to reduce ȮƵȲǞȌƮ ȮȌƗƵȲɈƜ ƊȀƮ ǞȀȺȮǞȲƵ ƧȌȀ˛ƮƵȀƧƵ Ɉǘȳȍɐǐǘ Ɗ ȲƵⱯȺƊƦǶƵ ǾƵȀȺɈȲⱯƊǶ Ƨɐȯ خ
The Mina cup is made from 100% medical grade silicone that is safe to use inside your body for up to 12 hours before being removed and rinsed. But the EHQHˋWV GR QRW HQG KHUH Ȥ,I \RX JLYH a girl or a woman a menstrual cup, she can manage her period for the QH[W ˋYH WR \HDUV 6KHȢV VDYLQJ D lot of money, she’s saving the planet, she’s protecting her health and she can be who she needs to be, instead RI ZRUU\LQJ DERXW KRZ WR ˋQDQFH her period health on a month-tomonth basis.” Mahomed first discovered the menstrual cup in 2014. Women’s Month was approaching and every year, she and her friends would raise funds to support communities in need. It was during this time that Mahomed came to learn that many young girls were skipping school during their periods because they did not have sanitary pads. By 2015, after months of research and hard work, Mina was born. Mahomed believes that Mina found her. “I felt that it was my duty as a mother, a sister and a fellow human being to educate not only girls about periods, but boys too — in order remove all fear and stigma and, LQVWHDG LQVWLO FRQˋGHQFH DV D JLUOȢV ERG\ VWDUWV WR FKDQJH ȥ
While the journey has been rewarding, it has not been easy. “I knew I needed to get an army of strong women behind me, EHFDXVH , ZDV JRLQJ WR KDYH WR ˋJKW D ORW RI WDERRV DQG FKDQJH a lot of mind-sets.” Mahomed worked hard to have menstrual conversations with elders and other community leaders, including men and boys. According to her, if patriarchy is the reason women are left behind, then overcoming patriarchy is going to be the reason women move forward.
“Mina is quite famous,” says Mahomed. “Mina has a number of stamps in her passport. We’ve been to Zimbabwe, the Middle East, Mozambique, and this September, Mina goes to Kenya.” Mina’s reach is undeniable and no matter what barriers she comes face-to-face with, she continues to advocate period positivity and touch many people’s lives. Mahomed and her team have worked with LGBTQIA+ people, gender-based violence survivors, women ZRUNLQJ LQ ODQGˋOOV DQG UHIXJHHV
We wanted to decrease absenteeism and pregnancy
rates to keep girls in school. They shouldn’t be missing out on an education because they
cannot afford something like a sanitary product, which is a
basic human right.
The success of Mina is largely down to Mahomed’s own maternal instinct combined with a knack for clever branding. 0LQD KDV KHU RZQ SHUVRQDOLW\ HPERG\LQJ D FRQˋGHQW KDSS\ and empowered woman who can do anything on or off her period. As a result, Mina not only advocates period positivity by normalising the natural process of menstruation, but also stresses the importance of staying in school. “We wanted to decrease absenteeism and pregnancy rates to keep girls in school. They shouldn’t be missing out on an education because they cannot afford something like a sanitary product, which is a basic human right.”