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India’s Soumya Dabriwal named Obama Foundation Scholar
Dabriwal aims to use her time at Columbia to develop a Menstrual Vulnerability Scale.
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Malvika Choudhary - Fri, 10, Oct 2025
- 15:43 EDT
- 17
Soumya Dabriwal / worldprojects.columbia.edu
Soumya Dabriwal, co-founder of Project Baala, has been named an Obama Foundation Scholar at Columbia University for the academic year 2025-2026.
The program brings together emerging leaders from around the world who have demonstrated a commitment to addressing pressing social challenges in their communities.
Also Read: Nabarun Dasgupta, Teresa Puthussery named 2025 MacArthur Fellows
Dabriwal’s initiative, Project Baala, focuses on advancing menstrual equity by developing and distributing sustainable menstrual and reproductive health solutions. The social enterprise integrates education, awareness, and entrepreneurship to equip women with both health resources and livelihood opportunities.
Under her leadership, Project Baala has expanded operations across 27 Indian states and parts of Nepal and Africa, directly reaching over 1.1 million women and families through outreach programs, grassroots partnerships, and government collaborations.
Hosted by Columbia World Projects, the Obama Foundation Scholars Program offers a fully funded nine-month residency in New York City. The scholars deepen their expertise, strengthen leadership capacities, and build global networks aimed at accelerating their social impact.
Dabriwal aims to use her time at Columbia to develop a Menstrual Vulnerability Scale—a framework designed to measure and address menstrual health disparities among marginalized groups.
Announcing the news on LinkedIn, Dabriwal wrote that becoming an Obama Scholar “feels like a dream in the making — a rare chance to step out of the day-to-day, immerse myself in new ideas, and reimagine what’s possible.” She added that she hopes to use the program “to scale Baala and explore new ways of deepening impact.”
Since its founding in 2018, Project Baala has been recognized for its sustainable approach to menstrual health and has partnered with organizations including Save the Child Foundation USA and the World Bank’s Ideas for Action program.
A graduate in economics from the University of Warwick, Dabriwal also holds a diploma in gender advocacy from the Swedish Institute. She has previously been recognized as an Acumen India Fellow (2022), a Global Good Fund Fellow (2021), and a Generation 17 leader under the Samsung–UNDP partnership.
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