Meet the Doctors Who Left City Life to Help 10,000 Rural Women Reclaim Their Health and Rights
21 October 2025
21 October 2025
What would make two doctors leave city life to educate 10,000 village women about their sexuality and reproductive rights? For Dr Manisha Gupte & Dr Ramesh Awasthi, it was witnessing a woman give birth on a dusty road.
In 1987, the couple moved to Malshiras, a remote village in Pune, and co-founded MASUM (Mahila Sarvangeen Utkarsh Mandal) to educate women about their bodies and rights.
MASUM isn’t just an NGO; it’s a collective of thousands of women who learn about their bodies, claim their rights, and lead change in their communities while breaking taboos.
MASUM's approach goes beyond awareness. Women are trained in self-examination techniques that help then detect infections, cervical cancer, and uterine prolapse.
MASUM also runs unique programmes where women stand in front of mirrors, inspect their bodies, and understand what’s healthy— and what isn’t, fostering awareness and confidence.
In rural India, many women still struggle to speak about their reproductive health in front of their families, let alone doctors. By the time they seek help, it's often too late.
"We found alarming statistics. Most women had less than 8% hemoglobin. This ideally needs hospitalisation, but the women couldn’t afford it. They'd sometimes just wake up one day and die", says Dr Gupte.
Dr Gupte & Dr Awasthi have spent over 30 years changing this reality. Over 10,000 rural women now understand menstruation, childbirth, symptoms of sexual diseases, and their reproductive rights.
The impact? Women are speaking up and going to doctors much earlier -- healthcare expenses have significantly reduced, with some families saving up to Rs 20,000 a year!
At an age when most retire, Dr Gupte & Dr Awasthi continue to guide MASUM's work in 20+ villages, empowering generations of women. Their mantra is simple: “Women don’t need protection—women’s rights do.”