MAUSI Net. Menopause Artivism in UK, Sweden and India

A transdisciplinary project bringing together international scholars in the fields of sociology, feminist geography, cultural and media studies, MAUSI Net aims to establish a national advocacy network which is ongoingly informed by international experiences in Sweden (Malmö) and India (Delhi). Through the use of co-creative epistemologies to stimulate dialogue, knowledge production and dissemination of cross-cultural experiences of women's post-reproductive age, MAUSI Net aims to use a multi-pronged approach capitalising on the strengths of the three contexts though a series of international workshops.

The first workshop will take place in Malmö, a small/medium size city in Sweden. Malmö is a known hub for artivism and as a city of cartoons (Seriestaden Malmö). A school for cartoonists was set up in 1999 and eventually led a group of women to start the feminist cartoonist collective Dotterbolaget (Daughter company) in 2005. In this context, comic strips became a form of activism aimed to support women in a male dominated sector. Malmö University's Department of Media, Art and Communication offers courses in visual communication and has experience of working with the municipality to display the work of local artists in public spaces. The workshop in Malmö will focus on awareness raising activities, through involvement of key civil society groups, the International Women's Organisation (IKF - Internationella kvinnoföreningen), and feminist cartoonists. The workshop will result in a menopause-themed comic strip/graphic novel that will be translated into English and Hindi and produce artivist interventions such as paper biodegradable stickers.

The second workshop will take place in Delhi. Delhi has established itself as a site for feminist activism on issues related to gendered violence, women's access to public space, gendered right to the city mainly through the work of NGOs using sustainable strategies to foster reproductive health amongst under-privileged women. One example is our partner organisation Goonj, which aims to build an equitable relationship of strength, sustenance, and dignity between cities and villages, using a range of fabrics as a tool to trigger development with dignity. One of their programmes is targeted at sustainable menstruation. The workshop in Delhi will engage Dalit women to speak about their experiences of post-reproductive age using storytelling-based approaches. The workshop in Delhi will malke use of selected material produced in Malmö to elicit the stories. This workshop will result in artivist material and other tools for raising awareness which will be discussed in the course of the workshop.

The work and artivism materials produced in Malmö and Delhi will converge in a major public facing event in London which will launch the MAUSI Net advocacy network. This event will see the participation of international speakers such as the Canadian cartoonist Sandra Bell Lundy, stakeholders such as the Menopause Charity, health practitioners and university-based menopause champions. The UK is at the vanguard of the "menopause in the workplace' movement where companies issue menopause policies and acquire the accreditation developed by Henpicked: Menopause in the Workplace, a British professional training firm. As Britain is currently leading the way in the field of menopause awareness, with this transdisciplinary network we aim to harness 'the menopausal turn' making sure cross-cultural awareness and trans-inclusion are embedded in dominant discourses and practices around the menopause. This network will lead to an international comparative research project on identity transition of women who are 50+.

Testimony to the genuine collaboration underpinning the proposed networking project, the research team had its first research workshop in Malmö, June 14-15th 2023, financed by Malmö University. Prior to this in person meeting, a series of zoom meetings had been held from October 2022 onward.