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...
Â
Let's talk about periods.
via: Getty Images
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.
via: Getty Images
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?
via: Getty
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?
via: Getty
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.
via: Getty Images
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"?
via: Getty Images
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.
via: Getty
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.
via: Getty
But what exactly is period poverty?For an official definition:
via: Getty
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"...
via: Getty
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"...
via: Getty
And they have been urging governments to provide schools and workplaces with free sanitary products.However, these calls have mostly fallen upon deaf ears.
via: Getty
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.
via: Getty
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?
Update from the kid's themselves. Honored to have been able to share these student's story and honored to be able t… https://t.co/lzPXnhKQ3I— ilyseh (@ilyseh)1572904685.0
People thought the protest was pretty amazing, as did we, and the responses quickly came pouring in...
@ilyseh Is he afraid girls are just gonna start having periods for fun?— JDArsen (@JDArsen)1572400814.0
People shouldn’t have to worry about money when it comes to health...
@ilyseh I teach at a CC. A student told me how great the basket of tampons/pads in the bathroom were. She was panic… https://t.co/J0LAguQlCQ— Corinne Graves (@Corinne Graves)1572440409.0
The girls also released a statement about their protest under the Revolutionary Girls’ Baking Society...
@ilyseh @Rxbun I hope the next protest is Christ on a Cracker because that was my reaction— Victor Agreda Jr (@Victor Agreda Jr)1572401459.0
The statement said this:
@ilyseh Well played, kids. What does Mr. Principal think the kids are going to do, sell them on the tampon black ma… https://t.co/9RFrppRLYd— Susan Szilagyi (@Susan Szilagyi)1572401979.0
They continued:
@ilyseh I am obsessed with this and the kids at this school?? Love to be reminded that the kids are DEFINITELY alright— Womxn Warren Democrats (@Womxn Warren Democrats)1572401063.0
Here are the revolutionary cookies.
My friend’s 7th grader goes to a school where the kids organized for free tampons in the bathroom. The male princip… https://t.co/hz4lTNralt— ilyseh (@ilyseh)1572400604.0