Asking a friend for a tampon or pad seems second-nature for most of us. After all, it’s a simple request for a bodily process that all women experience. However, not all women have the capability to ask these simple questions. Millions of women around the world are silenced under the fabrication that menstrual health is a taboo subject. For some women who can speak about it, their socioeconomic circumstances deprive them of the necessary facilities to properly care for themselves during menstruation. These women resort to using old pieces of fabric, newspapers, or even dried leaves. The stigma around periods has engendered a monthly state of isolation, physically for some, emotionally for others. The shame behind menstruation is not restricted to developing countries. Even in countries such as the United States,
58% of women are ashamed of having a period —Jaafar et al. 2023
This number gets much higher in impoverished areas in countries such as India or Burkina Faso. The silence around periods is holding communities back from societal progress. Too many women lack necessary facilities, so I wanted to become a part of the period movement and help remove the stigma around menstrual hygiene.
Girl Now Woman Later Internship
In addition to working with GNWL, as a Girl Scout I wanted to continue my efforts in menstruation youth activism with health education and product access. As a result, I decided to base my Gold Award Project on providing the slum areas in India with menstrual education as well as products. A main hindrance to receiving proper menstrual care is due to the stigma surrounding menstrual health. I plan on working through this by teaching them how to make reusable menstrual pads, eliminating the need for them to buy products on a regular basis. I plan on holding workshops to help assist and educate the young women.
Many people in these areas still believe that women are impure when they are on their period. I want to work through eliminating this shame by educating the women in the slum areas with the reason for having a period and how they can feel more comfortable in their bodies during this time. Many of these young women did not have anyone to guide them through the hygienic aspect of this process and how to alleviate other symptoms such as cramps. However, stigma isn’t the only issue. Many of these women also lack the monetary resources to purchase menstrual products such as pads and tampons. Instead, they will be able to reuse the pads to support the women of these communities.
Girls Supporting Girls
Through my journey of finding organizations dedicated to the cause of helping young women, I found Girl Now Woman Later. I was drawn to their dedication towards menstrual health aid and gender equality, focusing on aspects of education for young women. The emphasis that Girl Now Woman Later draws on the effects of a lack of menstrual health education resonated with me. Through a hardworking team of determined women, GNWL works together to support girls in Burkina Faso through a multi-faceted approach: monetary donations, product drives, and education. We work to make sure our mission is heard and that people are given the opportunities to help support our cause.
Become A Menstruation Ambassador!
Joining GNWL allowed me to see the direct international impact of women who are not given the resources necessary to be comfortable with their periods, hampering daily routines such as going to school. You can help too! Share your voice as a high school ambassador. GNWL is built on the support of the community to education of women of all capacities.
By leading this project with teams in both the United States and India, we, the next generation, show the girls of today that they are the independent women of tomorrow.
