Azad Lab (Free To Speak) is a show which discusses issues that are often side-lined by the mainstream but are a cause for much anxiety for young people; Topics include puberty, masculinity, caste, marriage, love, democracy, freedoms etc. Episode producer Anamika is a 19-year-old girl who lives in Tajpur Pahari. Her interest lies in creating audio stories that reflect issues faced by young people.

Episode 25: Menstruation: From a different perspective 

“Why menstruation is still a taboo in our society ”

Host Anamika directly talks to the boys and men in her community about menstruation and discusses why the word ‘menstruation’ is still looked at with shame. In this podcast, Anamika tries to understand the opinion of the men in her community surrounding menstruation and disrupts the notion that only women can talk about it.

Azad Lab is one of 6 shows produced as part of the Free/Dem Community Podcasts, the online avatar of the Free/Dem WhatsApp Radio run by community members of Tajpur Pahari and other urban slums in and around Delhi. The shows are built around ideas of gender equity, love, freedom of expression, human rights and justice. Through the podcasts, community members discuss as well as share their lived realities. They are produced under Ideosync’s FREE/DEM initiative, which provides marginalized communities – especially women and migrants – Digital Media and Information Trainings and a platform to amplify their narratives and stories using audio and video.