Menopause is not end of life: Lisa Ray at health conclave in Amritsar

Menopause and women’s health are still taboo subjects in a country that often treats them as “natural suffering” for women. Breaking these taboos, initiating dialogue and stressing empowerment through information, actor-entrepreneur Lisa Ray addressed the issue of menopause and the changes it brings at the FICCI FLO Amritsar chapter’s Wellness Conclave at the ITC Amritsar. In conversation with chairperson Tannya Khanna and wellness expert Gunisha Khurana, the session helped shift the discussion on women’s health from silent whispers to clinical clarity.

“Women in midlife or menopausal age are considered dangerous because we do not care what other people think. But this is also the time to empower ourselves with knowledge and information about what menopause does to the body,” she said.

Ray is the co-founder of NuHer, a menopause and women’s health clinic she founded this year.

As someone who has always been vocal about women’s health and about changing how women’s midlife health and menopause are viewed, especially in India, Ray said that menopause should not be treated as shameful or “just something women endure.” She has repeatedly said that menopause is heavily stigmatised and under-discussed, and has shared how, after going through chemo-induced menopause at 37 during cancer treatment, she felt there was very little guidance or emotional support available.

A 2025 survey involving over 32,000 women in under-resourced Indian communities by a private healthcare foundation found that 50 per cent of women were unaware of menopause effects, while 62 per cent did not know that treatment options existed. “I always support science-based, personalised healthcare that women must be informed about. Menopause is not the end of life and should not be treated as such,” she said.

As the co-founder of NuHer, Ray engaged in a deep-dive panel discussion that challenged midlife stereotypes. She discussed reclaiming identity and health during perimenopause — a stage she describes not as a decline, but as a “power phase” where purpose only sharpens with time.

Ensuring the dialogue was rooted in medical authority, the event featured a virtual keynote by Dr Kajal Parikh, a Mumbai-based pioneer in reproductive endocrinology.