Periods: a phenomenon that occurs every month in every woman’s body. This means that half of the world experiences periods! But if periods are so common, why are they such a taboo? The global cultural and societal shame linked to menstruation is outrageous. Around the world, women and young girls who menstruate are stopped from doing basic everyday activities such as eating certain foods and socializing. Absurd superstitions surrounding periods exist in multiple countries, but aside from being completely untrue, these beliefs and assumptions make it very difficult for women to speak out about their periods, leading to silence, shame, and misconceptions.
Now here is a term you may have never heard before: Period Poverty. This is when a girl cannot afford or doesn’t have access to the hygiene products and services needed to cope with her monthly bleed. Inadequate menstrual hygiene is a problem not only in developing countries but in developed countries as well. In a report published by the BBC, 1 in 10 girls in the UK cannot afford menstrual products. In addition, according to UNICEF, more than 2 billion people around the world live without basic sanitation amenities, and only 27 percent of people in developing countries have sufficient hand washing facilities at home. Lack of these basic sanitation services makes it difficult for women to cope with their periods hygienically and conveniently.
Causes of period poverty include stigmatization around periods, poverty, natural disasters, and war. Many are often at a crossroads when deciding whether to buy food or menstrual supplies. Many young girls may also miss school to avoid the shame of being on their periods or cannot purchase the correct period products. Even after missing just one day of school, I have an enormous amount of work to catch up on the next day. Can you imagine what having to miss school for a week every month for the single reason that you cannot afford sanitary products must be like? Girls may have to choose between having an education or go to school using primitive, almost horrific alternatives such as old rags, newspapers, tissue paper, or t-shirts. This is not only uncomfortable but unhygienic.
It is appalling that periods are preventing so many girls from having a full childhood and education. It is time we stop stigmatizing periods and speak out about the public health and societal concerns about period poverty. Periods are a part of a natural, beautiful cycle that fuels the Earth’s population; it’s nothing to be ashamed of. This is a fundamental issue of human rights, dignity, and public health, and that is why Make Today Matter hopes to make a difference. In our first project, Set Her Free, we aim to raise money to provide 100 girls in rural Tamil Nadu with a year-supply of pads. Through this initiative, we hope to help girls cope with their periods and enable them to go to school with confidence and security. We hope you join us in the fight to end Period Poverty and donate to our Go Fund Me page https://www.gofundme.com/f/make-today-matter. We must take action and work together so that one day, no girl will ever be held back from a childhood, education, or a bright future just because of her gender.
your blog post is very informative and well-written!