Deep Bajaj
21-Aug-2026
Working in women's health has taught me that the biggest barriers have rarely been about innovation. More often, they've been about visibility.
By Deep Bajaj, ReFounder & CEO, Sirona Hygiene
There was a time when women learnt to travel with an invisible checklist. Wallet? Check. Phone? Check. Charger? Check. And somewhere in the bag, just in case, a sanitary pad, pain relief medication, an extra pair of underwear, and perhaps even a change of clothes. Not because every journey demanded it, but because public spaces rarely anticipated the realities of being a woman.
That mental checklist became second nature. Most women never questioned it; they simply adapted because there wasn't another option.
Over the last decade, though, things have been changing. As someone who has spent years building in the women's health space, I have had countless conversations with women about the everyday challenges they face while travelling, working, or simply spending long hours away from home. One concern came up repeatedly: what happens when your period starts unexpectedly and there's nowhere to find a sanitary pad?
Those conversations made it clear that menstrual care isn't just a personal issue, it is part of how people experience public spaces.
Changing Perceptions
One of the most encouraging changes taking place across India today isn't just the rapid expansion of infrastructure. It's the evolution of what we expect these spaces to provide. We're no longer talking only about faster connectivity or better technology. Increasingly, we're asking whether these spaces are comfortable, inclusive, and designed for the people who actually use them.
That's a meaningful shift.
For years, public infrastructure followed a one-size-fits-all approach. While it wasn't intentionally exclusionary, it often overlooked everyday realities. Facilities such as nursing rooms, baby-changing stations, cleaner washrooms, or easy access to menstrual hygiene products were rarely viewed as essential infrastructure. Women planned because they knew these facilities couldn't be taken for granted.
But as more women entered the workforce, travelled independently, pursued higher education, and became increasingly visible in public life, that expectation began feeling outdated. Today, their everyday requirements are gradually being recognised as part of good infrastructure, rather than as special provisions.
You can see this shift across airports, metro stations, railway stations, shopping malls, office campuses, educational institutions, and workplaces. The conversation has expanded beyond building bigger spaces to building better ones.
Credits: thesirona.com
From Functional to Inclusive
When we talk about world-class infrastructure, we usually celebrate faster airports, smarter metro systems or digital ticketing. Those developments matter, of course. But a truly world-class public space is also one that quietly removes friction from people's lives.
Sometimes those improvements are surprisingly simple. A cleaner washroom; a nursing room; or better baby-care facilities; or even something as straightforward as being able to access menstrual hygiene products through a vending machine when you unexpectedly need one.
When conversations around menstrual hygiene infrastructure began several years ago, the question was often whether such facilities were necessary. Today, many organisations approach the discussion very differently. They recognise that if millions of women use their spaces every day, access to basic hygiene products is simply good infrastructure. That's genuine progress.
A traveller isn't simply a passenger. She may be a young professional rushing between meetings, a student heading home for the holidays, a mother travelling with a toddler, or someone who unexpectedly starts her period during a long commute.
Public infrastructure works best when it anticipates these everyday moments instead of expecting people to solve them on their own. Working in women's health has taught me that the biggest barriers have rarely been about innovation. More often, they've been about visibility.
Evolving Mindset Behind the Progress
For years, menstruation was treated as something women should quietly prepare for before stepping into public spaces. The expectation wasn't that infrastructure should support them; it was that they should carry everything they might need.
Buying a sanitary pad often meant asking discreetly at a pharmacy, waiting while it was wrapped in newspaper, and hoping no one noticed. Many women grew up believing menstruation was something to manage privately and silently.
That mindset is slowly changing. Seeing menstrual hygiene products available in public spaces sends a very different message. They become another everyday facility, no different in principle from drinking water, charging stations or first-aid kits. Their presence communicates something important without saying a word: women's wellbeing belongs in public spaces too.
At first glance, this may seem like a small convenience. But every time a public space acknowledges women's everyday needs, it quietly reinforces the idea that they do not have to plan around the gaps in infrastructure. That simple shift helps normalise conversations that were once considered taboo.
A young girl entering college, a professional rushing to catch a flight or a commuter travelling across the city shouldn't feel that managing her period is something that has to happen behind closed doors. When infrastructure quietly supports her, it also signals that these experiences are recognised rather than overlooked.
In many ways, the evolution of public infrastructure reflects the evolution of society itself. We have begun recognising that great infrastructure is also about empathy. It's about understanding that different people experience the same public space differently.
A parent travelling with an infant has different needs from a business traveller. An elderly commuter may require different support than a college student. And women shouldn't have to shoulder the responsibility of planning for basic hygiene simply because public infrastructure never considered it.
Moving Towards Intentional Planning
As India continues investing in smarter cities and world-class infrastructure, we also have an opportunity to redefine what world-class truly means. Modern architecture and advanced technology are important, but so is thoughtful design that reflects the diversity of the people using these spaces every day.
These may seem like small changes, but they make every day travel a little less stressful, a little more dignified, and a little more equal. This is the kind of progress that improves not just journeys, but everyday life itself.
