Inanna: Goddess of Love, Fertility, Sensuality, and War.

History

Inanna has a rich history as the ancient Mesopotamian Goddess of love, sensuality, fertility, and war. Mesopotamia was a civilization in southwestern Asia where the world’s earliest civilization developed. According to Britannica, "The name (Mesopotamia) comes from a Greek word meaning 'between rivers,' referring to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, but the region can be broadly defined to include the area that is now eastern Syria, southeastern Turkey, and most of Iraq. The region was the center of a culture whose influence extended throughout the Middle East and as far as the Indus Valley, Egypt, and the Mediterranean." An article from WorldHistory.org further notes, "Inanna is the ancient Sumerian goddess of love, sensuality, fertility, procreation, and also of war. She later became identified by the Akkadians and Assyrians as the Goddess Ishtar, and further with the Hittite Sauska, the Phoenician Astarte, and the Greek Aphrodite, among many others.... The goddess appears in ancient Mesopotamian myths in which she brings knowledge and culture to the city of Uruk." 

Why Inanna?

Women’s health has always been more complex—and more powerful—than the world has acknowledged. Too often, women have found themselves boxed in by outdated roles, diminished by labels like “emotional” or “irrational,” and sidelined within systems that weren’t built for them. This bias is especially stark in healthcare, where research, testing, and standards have historically ignored the needs, risks, and physiology unique to women.

When I was searching for a name for this company, I knew I needed one word that could encapsulate the multifaceted reality of being woman. As a result, I chose Inanna's name for our company because she embodies the duality of women, who can be patrons of love, creation, and softness while also possessing a natural affinity for the roles of warrior, protector, and leader. These qualities are not, and have never been, mutually exclusive.

But despite these strengths, women’s health has too often been overlooked. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, “less than 2% of medical research funding is spent on pregnancy, childbirth and female reproductive health.” The statistics are abundantly clear: Women are being medically denied and left with profound unmet need.

Additionally, as highlighted by WeWillCure.com,

“Even more worrying, spending earmarked for women’s health research has started to decline in recent years, even as NIH funding overall has grown. In 2023, less than 8 percent of total NIH grant funding went to women’s health research—just $3.4 billion out of $43.7 billion. This decline has occurred while overall NIH grant funding has steadily increased, both in dollars spent and the number of projects funded.”

This lack of representation leads to suboptimal healthcare and adverse outcomes for women. Medical research, safety standards, and product testing have routinely centered men as the default—leaving women underrepresented, underserved, and sometimes at risk. The consequences go beyond inconvenience; they affect real lives, real families, and the future of our communities.

At Inanna Certifications, we exist to change that.

We raise the bar for women’s health product safety—not just by testing more, but by setting standards built around women’s bodies, life stages, and lived experiences. Every product we certify is held to rigorous, evidence-based criteria—because women deserve nothing less.

But above all, we believe in truth and transparency.

Women deserve clear data, honest labeling, and products designed to help, not hurt. We’re building a future where quality and safety, specific to women’s anatomy, aren’t “nice to have”—they’re the standard.