The Fight for Menstrual Equity

Why am I fighting for menstrual equity?

Purchasing sanitary products is not a matter of choice — it is a necessity. Ultimately, menstruators are unfairly unable to attend school due to lack of supplies, menstrual pain, and (absurdly) the connotation of impurity. The main perpetrators of this inequity are the ignorance and stigmatization surrounding menstrual cycles at both a legislative and social level. With limited discussion over a supposedly ‘taboo topic,’ legislators fail to garner attention towards eliminating the tampon tax and providing greater accessibility to sanitary items. If everyone confronted this pervasive issue, an atmosphere where legislators could regularly discuss menstrual cycles would emerge. Educating yourself, dispelling misconceptions, and facilitating conversations with peers are the first steps to eradicating this stigma.

This year, my organization, Public Health PHC, hosted a Products Drive, which provided the greater Staten Island community access to sanitary products and prevented young menstruators from missing school. Furthermore, presentations I held in my community centers and social media posts on the account, @publichealth.phc (https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca2jmNdrS5i/) prove my local and even global impact on menstrual equity. There are numerous reasons as to why I want to further my impact via this application — nevertheless, the principal reason is a girl’s right to education which imposes an unjust limitation on achieving gender equality. I have always openly said ‘I am on my period,’ and have never understood the taboos surrounding such statements. It’s normal —and the fact that menstruators and non-menstruators don’t understand that due to societal conventions is utterly absurd.

How have I grown as an activist promoting menstrual equity in my community?

My mom took me out of horseback riding when I was 9 years old because my grandma told her that I’d lose my virginity —aka break my hymen —if I continued. This myth has transitioned to my menstrual cycle; namely, I do not wear tampons. I doubt I would stick a tampon up even if it weren’t for my wonderful mother’s worries. However, with the more research I had done to understand menstrual cycles, I realized that alike individuals who embrace this myth hinder menstrual equity, specifically by perpetuating such associative ideas of impurity. Therefore, as an activist, I have become more confident in this fight to end the stigma, namely through conversations.

What started as a small discussion between 3 of my male peers regarding whether or not they would openly donate tampons changed into a community-wide presentation for my peers in 7th-12th grade and a donation week. As I have mentioned, standing in front of many individuals you know is no easy task, especially when talking about a supposedly taboo topic. There were laughs at first; however, these laughs about periods transitioned into laughs about the absurdity of the tampon tax. In this, I learned a quintessential lesson: no matter how silly people perceive you, stand up for what you believe in — because your words impact someone out there, who can’t muster the courage to speak up and is waiting for you to do so.

What I hope to accomplish in the future to further menstrual equity?

Intrusive policies, such as the tampon tax, do not merely pertain to the United States, but have also evolved in more extreme forms in countries, such as India, where these policies restrict menstruators’ rights, namely to education. Such discrimination emphasizes the ignorance surrounding menstruation at both a governmental and societal level and consequently imposes an unjust limitation on achieving gender equality.

While organizing a watch party for the movie Period. End of Sentence, I furthered my desire to eradicate this stigma on a global platform and expand my impact through legislation and social media. Speeches, presentations, and social media have had a profound impact on my community, and I aspire for that impact to expand evermore, namely by using technology to touch the parts of the world which are far from both the US and from achieving equity. As a daughter of two immigrant parents, namely from the Middle East, I recognized that this documentary was not far away from my extended family and my parent’s upbringing. The ultimate hope would be to establish menstrual equity, and thus further gender equality throughout the globe.

Period. seeks to work globally to eliminate the tampon tax and provide universal access to sanitary items, especially at schools. My actions have impacted my Staten Island community, and I hope that with increased resources, a more far-reaching voice, and greater advocacy, namely with this organization, legislative action will occur both nationally and abroad.