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Beyond the Bangles: Intimacy, Pleasure & Reclaiming Desire in Midlife
For many South Asian women, midlife comes with a soft grief, not just for their changing bodies, but for the parts of themselves they never got to fully explore. One of the most silenced aspects? Intimacy and desire. We grew up in homes where sex was never discussed, affection was shown in meals, not touch, and love was measured through sacrifice, not self-expression. For some of us, intimacy was duty. For others, it was a shame. Rarely was it talked about as something for us, something to be explored, savoured, and enjoyed. But as we enter our 40s and 50s, and menopause shifts our hormones and our sense of self,…
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When the Body Speaks: How Menopause Unmasks Generational Trauma in South Asian Women
Menopause isn’t just a biological transition; it’s an emotional reckoning. And for South Asian women, that reckoning often goes far deeper than hormones. It reaches into generations of silence, self-sacrifice, and suppressed pain. We are the daughters of women who never spoke of their needs. Who worked through grief without therapy, raised children through patriarchy, and held their trauma in their bodies. And now, as we enter midlife, our bodies are speaking the language they were never taught to express. The Body Keeps the Score Modern research, from neuroscience to epigenetics, confirms what many ancient traditions already knew: trauma lives in the body. And when the body begins to change,…
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Diwali: A Festival of Light, A Season of Renewal for South Asian Women in Midlife
For South Asian women, Diwali has always been about light, lamps lit to welcome prosperity, new beginnings, and the triumph of hope over despair. But for women in midlife, navigating the changes of perimenopause and menopause, Diwali can also hold a more personal symbolism: the light we choose to shine within ourselves when everything feels uncertain. Midlife is often a time of quiet reckoning. Our bodies shift with hot flushes, brain fog, sleepless nights, and aching joints. Emotionally, we may feel invisible, worn down by caregiving, cultural expectations, and the silence surrounding menopause. For many South Asian women, conversations about our bodies are still hushed, if they happen at all.…
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Breaking the Silence: World Menopause Awareness Day and the South Asian Midlife Experience
“It’s just part of being a woman.” How many of us have heard that line, whispered between aunties, brushed off at doctor’s appointments, or buried within our own thoughts, when speaking of the hot flushes, mood swings, weight gain, and insomnia that define menopause? But this October 18th, on World Menopause Awareness Day, we are no longer whispering. We are speaking out for ourselves, for our mothers, and for our daughters, because South Asian women in midlife deserve to be seen, heard, and supported through this powerful transition. The Hidden Struggles of South Asian Women in Menopause While menopause is a universal biological process, the experience is far from equal.…
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Mind, Body & Soul: Mental Health Matters for South Asian Women in Midlife
World Mental Health Day invites us all to pause and reflect on an often invisible struggle: the mental health of women navigating midlife and menopause. For South Asian women, this can be a particularly complex journey, shaped by cultural expectations, intergenerational trauma, and hormonal upheaval. The Mental Health Landscape in Midlife Midlife is a time of profound change. Physically, emotionally, and socially, everything feels like it’s shifting beneath our feet. For South Asian women, these changes intersect with cultural pressures to be resilient, caretakers, and pillars of the family. This can make it difficult to prioritise mental wellbeing or speak openly about struggles. Breaking the Silence: Mental Health Stigma in…
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The Silent Ache: Unmasking Arthritis in South Asian Women in Midlife
Arthritis is often seen as an inevitable part of ageing, something to quietly endure with turmeric lattes and “stiff upper lips.” But for South Asian women in midlife, the silence around joint pain, mobility issues, and chronic fatigue can be devastating. As we observe National Arthritis Week, it’s time to centre the unique struggles and strengths of South Asian women who are living with arthritis during one of the most hormonally, emotionally, and socially complex times of life: perimenopause and menopause. Understanding Arthritis in Midlife There are more than 10 million people in the UK living with arthritis, and many of them are women over 40. The two most common…
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Beyond the Pink Ribbon: Breast Cancer Awareness for South Asian Women in Midlife
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – a global campaign drenched in pink ribbons and calls for early detection. But behind the slogans lies a pressing truth: South Asian women in the UK are less likely to attend breast screenings and more likely to face delays in diagnosis. As we enter midlife, a time already shaped by hormonal shifts, menopause symptoms and identity transitions, many of us place our own health on the back burner. But the cost of silence is far too high. The Statistics We Can’t Ignore Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, and 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed in their lifetime.…
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Menopause Matters: A Month to Empower South Asian Women in Midlife #MenopauseAwarenessMonth
October is Menopause Awareness Month, a time to highlight a natural life transition that still carries shame, silence, and misunderstanding, especially within South Asian communities. For many women in midlife, menopause is not just a hormonal change; it’s a full-body, full-life transformation. Yet, South Asian women often face this journey feeling isolated, misinformed, and overlooked. At The Sattva Collective, we believe it’s time to shift that narrative, to move from secrecy to solidarity. Why Menopause Awareness Month Matters The aim of Menopause Awareness Month is simple: to educate, raise awareness, and break down stigma. But for South Asian women, this mission holds a deeper cultural weight. In many of our…
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When Marriage Feels Empty: Lessons for South Asian Women in Midlife
In many South Asian families, when a woman confides that her marriage feels empty, the response she receives is predictable: “But your husband is a good man. He doesn’t hit you, he doesn’t shout at you, he doesn’t humiliate you. You should be grateful.” And this, right here, is where the problem lies. The standard for being a “good husband” is set painfully low, so that as long as he is not actively abusive, he is considered ideal. But the absence of harm is not the same as the presence of love. A man can provide financially, behave respectfully in public, and avoid cruelty at home, and still leave his…
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Menopause in the Gurudwara: Faith, Spirituality & the Midlife Journey
When I entered perimenopause, I found myself weeping in the prayer hall – our Sikh communal space felt like soft ground under my feet. I was overwhelmed by hot flushes, anxiety, shifting identity – and yet that safe, sacred space offered a silent invitation: you are seen, even if just by this gentle community. Spiritual longing in a changing body For many South Asian women, faith traditions are both anchor and expectation. We look to temples, mosques, gurdwaras – not just for prayer, but for guidance and support. Yet these same spaces often reflect cultural silences: “That’s nature,” or “It’s our time to be grandmothers,” can feel dismissive when emotional…
