Period products

Period products are essential, not luxury

It was March 2020, a Tuesday, I was sat in a class for a lesson and suddenly I got my period! I went to the bathroom, but as it was a public place, it didn’t have menstrual pads. That day I had no idea I was going to have my period, so I had not brought any pads with me. I had to leave class and get a taxi, hoping not to bleed too much until I get home. That day, I could have continued my class if public places provided free menstrual products.

According to Global Citizen, 12,8% of women and girls around the world live in poverty and face difficulty in obtaining what they need to manage their periods. It is estimated that 500 million people live without access to pads or tampons.

People in power do not include these products on the list of essential products, so we do not yet provide free menstrual products and as a result there are women and girls who use unsafe materials. “I tried to use cheaper pads because I didn’t have enough money, but my vagina was itchy all day, until I spent more money getting new pads and treatment to stop it’’, said 17-year-old Sahar from Afghanistan. Period poverty can be stopped or at least decreased, if menstrual products get on the lists of essential products.

To all decision makers: Would you choose to bleed every month for a whole week? Because if we had the choice, we wouldn’t. We don’t want to have body, back, feet or stomach pain every month and the worst part, to have to pay because of it as well.

Let’s ask these men to carry toilet paper and hand wash in their pockets! Oh, does it sound ridiculous? If it does, it shouldn’t, because we have to carry pads everywhere, since even in public places, they don’t provide pads.

Well, in my previous article I wrote that I don’t know how to sum up, but now I know! So, summing up, period products are essential. We don’t get them for showing off, we need them. All public places like schools, universities, hospitals etc. need to provide free pads and tampons. And please, decision makers, educate yourselves.

Neda Yaqoobi

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