India, March 8 -- After seven years and a pandemic, I earned my PhD in economics in 2022. My dadi (paternal grandmother) got to see me receive my doctoral degree. "Ye bahut badi baat hai! (This is a big achievement!)," she told me, her eyes twinkling when I showed her my sash and certificate. I lost her to a long battle with cancer a year ago, about a week before her 86th birthday. When I chose to study menstrual practices and their impact on young girls' education for my research, she was my first key interview. On one of my trips back home after dadi's death, the lady who had assisted her in the last few months shared the most heartwarming story that reaffirmed my faith in the power of the safe spaces that only sisterhood can provide. ...