Paromita Sengupta, Bengaluru

A class XII student of Kolkata’s top-ranked Cambridge International (UK) and International Baccalaureate (Geneva)-affiliated Calcutta International School, Anjali Surana (18) is national winner of the 11th Pramerica Spirit of Community Awards (PSCA) 2021. This teen social activist was presented a gold medallion, certificate of excellence and a cash prize of Rs.350,000 for promoting Fullstopp, a non-profit NGO whose prime objective is to educate society about the universality of women’s menstruation cycles and to “banish persistent myths and superstitions associated with this perfectly natural phenomenon experienced by half of humankind”.

Last year, a UK charity acknowledged Fullstopp’s initiatives and awarded Anjali the prestigious Diana Award 2020.

The elder of two children of businessman Sidharth Surana, and homemaker Namrata, Anjali is delighted that Fullstopp campaigns to eliminate the shame and stigma associated with menstruation have been acknowledged by PSCA.

“Fullstopp is a non-profit led by 100 youth volunteers working to improve awareness, access, and advocacy efforts in the menstrual health and hygiene space. We are busting myths, allowing underprivileged women to make the switch from rags to eco-friendly sanitary products through distribution drives, and online and offline campaigns to foster healthy attitudes towards menstrual periods. Thus far, we have impacted 6,000-plus women, and distributed over 1 million women friendly products to achieve a period positive world,” she says.

Tirelessly helping and enabling “people in need anywhere and everywhere”, this young activist was heavily engaged with a relief campaign to provide rations to 1,000 households affected by Cyclone Amphan, which swept eastern India in May 2020, and the ‘Unite for Erudite’ campaign to provide 640 hours of online learning for children during the pandemic.

Currently focused on her class XII online A level exams, Anjali is clear about her future career path. “My goal is to develop business management skills and use them in causes of social justice,” says this indefatigable activist who is headed to Stanford University, USA to pursue an undergrad degree in economics and communication studies this fall.