Teen Menstrual Activist From India Receives Prestigious Diana Award

An 18-year-old student from India who launched a grassroots campaign to destigmatize menstruation has been recognized internationally for his humanitarian efforts. NPR reported that Aadvik Jain received the prestigious Princess Diana Award during an internationally streamed virtual ceremony on November 4, 2026.

Who is Aadvik Jain?

Aadvik Jain is a menstrual activist and former student at Amity International School in Delhi who founded the youth initiative Team Period. NPR reported that Jain was among 198 young activists from 44 countries named to the Diana honor roll, which recognizes individuals aged 16 to 25 for social action. India accounted for nearly a quarter of this year's recipients, totaling 49 honorees. Other notable Indian recipients mentioned in NPR's report include Shiv Mandlik, who invented a bendable construction pole and a fall-detection app; Krish Aggarwal, who created an inexpensive indoor air pollution filter; and Kushal Sachdeva, founder of the stray dog welfare group Protect Paws.

What inspired the activism?

Jain's advocacy began in 2023 when he was 14 and in the tenth grade, after watching a close childhood friend suffer from severe menstrual pain and irregular periods for six to eight months. According to NPR, her symptoms were initially dismissed by her parents and school environment as an attempt to avoid exams. After intervention from Jain's mother and teacher Sonia Rao, the friend was diagnosed with PCOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome) and doctors began investigating endometriosis. Witnessing the deep-seated cultural stigma and lack of empathy surrounding menstruation inspired Jain and his peers to co-founder Team Period in 2024 through the Youth Power program run by the student newspaper The Global Times.

"Of course, people were surprised that a 15-year-old boy wanted to tackle menstrual shame," Jain told NPR. "But our friends were very supportive because we never approached the issue as experts. We approached it as learners. I never thought that I could explain what happens to a woman's body better than a woman herself."

What happens next?

NPR reported that Jain is scheduled to move to Italy in February to study medicine and public health at the University of Bologna. Speaking on his long-term ambitions, Jain told NPR, "I have always been interested in public health, and I hope to work with an organization like the WHO or the United Nations one day. But as a 16- or 17-year-old, you can't just show up at the WHO and say you want to change things. You have to start somewhere."