7th Graders Make Tampon Cookies for Principal After He Refuses To Put Sanitary Products in Restrooms | 22 Words

When a male principal refused to supply sanitary products for the girls at his school, a group of 7th graders took matters into their own hands.

What happened next is magical...

 

Let's talk about periods.

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 This may repulse some people who can't handle reading anything about the inner workings of a female, but please do us all a favor and grow up.

Periods are completely natural.

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 Some people seem to think that the menstrual cycle is some sort of taboo subject that needs to be avoided at all costs, but I'm here to remind you that it's not. It's simply a natural part of the female routine.

So what actually happens?

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 In a simple explanation, the cycle involves the removal of an unfertilized egg with the lining of the womb. That's literally it. There's nothing repulsive about it.

So why is it considered such a taboo subject?

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 Well, for centuries now, the topic of women's periods have been kept on the hush-hush, and it's all because society has stigmatized it.

And, even though the times are slowly changing, some cultures aren't.

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 In India and other parts of Asia, the idea that a woman can be on her period seems to be too hard to accept. Girls as young as eleven have been shunned while on their period in a "cleansing custom."

What is the "cleansing custom"?

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 This is when a woman is typically removed from her household and placed into a hut, or a shack, where she will reside while she is menstruating. That's right. She is physically removed from society and put into isolation because she is deemed "dirty" if her body is in the natural process of removing an unfertilized egg.

So, this is why we need to be more open about the topic.

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 However, rather than talking about how to help normalize the process, there is another issue that needs to be addressed.

Period poverty is real, and it affects the lives of millions of young girls and women all over the world.

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 But what exactly is period poverty?

For an official definition:

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 According to the sanitary manufacturer, BodyForm, period poverty means being unable to access sanitary products and having poor knowledge of menstruation often due to financial constraints.

Sadly, sanitary products are classified as "luxury items"...

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 And therefore, can be incredibly expensive, especially for those from lower-income households.

For years now, women all over the world have called for an end of this "period tax"...

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 And they have been urging governments to provide schools and workplaces with free sanitary products.

However, these calls have mostly fallen upon deaf ears.

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 So far, Scotland and New Zealand have been the only countries to take action, with their parliaments approving plans last year to make sanitary products freely available to women in public spaces such as public restrooms, community centers, and youth clubs.

So, to make a stand, a group of 7th graders recently came together to fight for free period products in their school restrooms.

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 At a middle school, students decided to protest after their male principal refused to supply free sanitary products because according to him, the students would “abuse the privilege."

So what exactly did they decide to do?

They baked some tampon cookies, of course!

People thought the protest was pretty amazing, as did we, and the responses quickly came pouring in...

One wrote: “Each generation is incorporating feminism into child-rearing more and more. Yesterday’s ‘you can be a doctor’ is now ‘you can be a doctor and you can demand tampons." While a second said: “She and every girl in the school should rally together and agree that every. single. time. they need a tampon, they should bypass all other adults at school and go ask for one from the principal directly."

People shouldn’t have to worry about money when it comes to health...

"Maybe the girls should demonstrate that they are not taking advantage of free tampons by returning them to the principal when they are finished with them."

The girls also released a statement about their protest under the Revolutionary Girls’ Baking Society...

In order to keep the world updated on their progress.

The statement said this:

“After our cookie protest, our principal and the school board are now working to make sure every girl in our town will have the products they need readily available so no girl misses a day of school. We are very grateful that the school has taken our action seriously and is making a change. Feminine hygiene is not a luxury or a privilege, and not having tampons and pads is a barrier to every girl’s education."

They continued:

"Ours is a story of standing up with love and courage for our basic rights. Stand with us and work locally, nationally, and internationally to support the health and rights of all people. Check out Period.org or any of the hundreds of organizations working to ensure equal access to education for all. Your actions can and do make a difference. We know because ours did. If tampon cookies can spark a revolution, then the possibilities are endless! Signed, The Revolutionary Girls’ Baking Society, baking a difference one bizarre confection at a time."

Here are the revolutionary cookies.

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