Wasim Khan, a 24-year-old resident of Dharavi in Mumbai, had never discussed anything about the changes in his body with his family members. “If I had a problem, I used to ask my friends and used to visit a doctor only when something was serious,” he says. “And to do that I used to visit a doctor outside my area in Sion so that no one should get a hint about my sexual concerns."

Since 2016, however, friendly conversations with local health volunteers of Mumbai-based SNEHA foundation have expanded Khan’s knowledge about sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and with time he has grown more confident about discussing the same with his partner in a healthy manner.