Great Article in Huffpost talking all things sex and periods….
Category: Media
Periods appear at the Oscars
Awareness is growing and we are here for it!!!
This film allows for open conversation and a perfect way to raise the topic.
We just need to get The Government to take notice and address #PeriodPoverty and abolish the PinkTax
Check out the link below – https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a26504881/period-end-of-sentence-won-oscar-best-documentary-icky-acceptance-speech/
Education is key…. 2020
Amazing news. Education is so important and awareness can save lives. We will be watching with great interest as 2020 is not that far away.
Amazing news. Education is so important and awareness can save lives. We will be watching with great interest as 2020 is not that far away.
Check out the full article below
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-47350835
Traveling into irregularities?
Check out this amazing article on traveling and the impact it can have on your period
Click link
Lily Cup compact ..
Is anyone else intrigued by this new collapsible cup??
Check out the Lily Cup Link
Fitbit needs a women’s touch ….
Such an interesting article in THE POOL, highlighting the need for more female input in Tech….
Those that use Fitbit will know that it features a period tracker but how useful to you find it???
Check out the article below and share your thoughts
Highlighting Period Poverty
Such an interesting article about Period Poverty by Alesha Dixon in Stylist Magazine
In it she speaks about the that 137,000 girls are regularly missing school because they can’t afford sanitary protection.
Interestingly, she also believes that a simple but effective solution is to start talking about periods, as it would help normalise them, and takes away the stigma so that they’re no longer a taboo.
It would be such a positive step forward if we can have this open conversation where the public become more aware of the issue, and young girls feel more confident to ask for help.
Check out the full article here:
Grace Cup
We had the pleasure of connecting with Ebby, the founder of The Grace Cup, who is doing some amazing work creating a more sustainable sanitary product alternative in Kenya
My name is Ebby Weyime. I am the owner and founder of The Grace Cup this is Kenya’s first and only menstrual cup brand.
In my community we have many girls who can’t afford commercial pads and tampons, they end up using unconventional means like pieces of cloths, old mattresses and even leaves as a means of dealing with their menses.
There are several organizations that are donating disposable pads to these girls, which is a plus but this does not solve the problem as it means you have to help these girls every single month.
The question now remains, how long will you do this for?
That’s when I stepped in with menstrual cups. After using it for a few months myself I found this to be the best solution as it is durable for up to 10 years, saves thousands of shillings in the long run also contains no chemicals or toxins hence good for your health.
So far we have distributed 213 cups for free to needy girls and are constantly looking for more well wishers to sponsor a cup to needy girls. We also sell commercially and the response is overwhelming.
Our aim is to have at least 20% of Kenyan women on the cup and have plastic free periods.
If you would like to know more, check out their Instagram Grace Cup IG
Before Meghan met Harry….
Like the rest of the world we watched what felt like a real life fairy tale unfold before our eyes!!
The Guests! The wonderful Choir and of course THE DRESS!
However, before Meghan became the Duchess of Sussex… she was actually a pretty amazing Humanitarian from speaking out about Sexism at the tender age of 11 her work to promote the issue of clean water in areas such a Rwanda.
Interestingly, Meghan penned an essay for Time Magazine about young girls in places such as India and Africa loosing out on education once their periods started.
Read her essay below and tell us what you think in the Comment section!
Meghan Markle: How Periods Affect Potential
Imagine a world where the female leaders we revere never achieved their full potential because they dropped out of school at the age of thirteen. In the Western world this is challenging to fathom, but for millions of young women globally, this remains their harsh reality for a staggering reason. From sub-Saharan Africa to India, Iran, and several other countries, the stigma surrounding menstruation and lack of access to proper sanitation directly inhibit young women from pursuing an education.
Based on societal ignominy in the developing world, shame surrounding menstruation and its direct barrier to girls education remains a hushed conversation. As a result, both household dialogue and policy making discussions often leave Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) off the table. Former First Lady Michelle Obama spoke directly about this subject at the World Bank in April 2016, and various NGOs actively seek out policy reform and programming to address this concern, yet the topic remains neglected.
I traveled to Delhi and Mumbai this January with World Vision to meet girls and women directly impacted by the stigmatization of menstrual health and to learn how it hinders girls’ education. One hundred and thirteen million adolescent girls between the ages of 12-14 in India alone are at risk of dropping out of school because of the stigma surrounding menstrual health. During my time in the field, many girls shared that they feel embarrassed to go to school during their periods, ill equipped with rags instead of pads, unable to participate in sports, and without bathrooms available to care for themselves, they often opt to drop out of school entirely. Furthermore, with minimal dialogue about menstrual health hygiene either at school or home due to the taboo nature of the subject, many girls believe their bodies are purging evil spirits, or that they are injured once a month; this is a shame-filled reality they quietly endure. All of these factors perpetuate the cycle of poverty and stunt a young girl’s dream for a more prolific future.
The Indian government initiated a campaign in 2014 called “Save the Girl Child, Educate the Girl Child,” reinforcing the value of a girl’s life and her education. And while this initiative steers India closer to the Sustainable Development Goals, (specifically universal education & gender equality), the fact remains that only fifty percent of secondary schools in India have toilets, leaving roughly fifty percent of the population deterred from attending. If MHM were part of the conversation surrounding policy change, just as access to clean water and sanitation, it would push the conversation (and actualization of it) significantly further.
When a girl misses school because of her period, cumulatively that puts her behind her male classmates by 145 days. And that’s the mitigated setback if she opts to stay in school, which most do not. The latter elect to return home, increasing their subjection to dangerous work, susceptibility to being victims of violence, and most commonly, being conditioned for early childhood marriage. As a female in India, the challenge of survival begins at birth, first overcoming female feticide, then being victim to malnourishment, potentially abuse, and lack of access to proper sanitation facilities. Why, if she is able to overcome all of these challenges and finally get to school, should her education and potential to succeed, be sacrificed because of shame surrounding her period?
To remedy this problem, young girls need MHM, access to toilets, and at a most basic level, sanitary pads. Twenty-three percent of girls in India drop out of school because these factors are not at play. During my time in the slum communities outside of Mumbai, I shadowed women who are part of a microfinance system where they manufacture sanitary napkins and sell them within the community. The namesake of the organization, Myna Mahila Foundation, refers to a chatty bird (“myna”) and “mahila” meaning woman. The name echoes the undercurrent of this issue: we need to speak about it, to be “chatty” about it. Ninety-seven percent of the employees of Myna Mahila live and work within the slums, creating a system which as, Nobel Peace prize nominee Dr. Jockin Arputham shared with me, is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and allowing access to education. In addition, the women’s work opens the dialogue of menstrual hygiene in their homes, liberating them from silent suffering, and equipping their daughters to attend school.
Beyond India, in communities all over the globe, young girls’ potential is being squandered because we are too shy to talk about the most natural thing in the world. To that I say: we need to push the conversation, mobilize policy making surrounding menstrual health initiatives, support organizations who foster girls’ education from the ground up, and within our own homes, we need to rise above our puritanical bashfulness when it comes to talking about menstruation.
Wasted opportunity is unacceptable with stakes this high. To break the cycle of poverty, and to achieve economic growth and sustainability in developing countries, young women need access to education. When we empower girls hungry for education, we cultivate women who are emboldened to effect change within their communities and globally. If that is our dream for them, then the promise of it must begin with us. Period.
It’s everywhere
We feel it’s time for a REAL conversation about periods. What are your first thoughts when you hear the word Period??
Historically the media has been promoting the negative images or humorous aspect of periods but rarely are the facts at the forefront.
Just type Period quotes in google – we did and we were underwhelming by the first images that popped up.
Nothing informative or uplifting, just pages and pages of this…..
But we at Periodical Diary are about solutions, so it got us thinking, what do we need to do to replace this with positive images? How can we reclaim the word?
We believe education is key, that’s why we are focused on spreading a positive message to the next generation, in the hopes that it will change the narrative, shame the shame and normalise the experience.
Our workshops are fun, positive, interactive and curriculum based.
If you think that your school, youth group or organisation would benefit from our workshop, please contact us Here
Periodical Diary 