Pads, Power, and Progress: How We Can End Period Poverty Together

What would you do if you couldn’t afford a pad during your period?

For over 500 million women and girls globally, this isn’t a hypothetical question, it’s a monthly reality. While menstruation is a natural biological process, millions face shame, isolation, and hardship simply because they bleed. It’s time we raise our voices and take action to end period poverty, not tomorrow, but today.

What Is Period Poverty?

Period poverty refers to the lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene education, clean water, sanitation facilities, and proper disposal methods. But it’s more than just about pads and tampons, it’s about dignity, health, education, and gender equity.

Girls in countries like Uganda, Kenya, India, and Nepal often miss school during their periods. According to UNICEF, 1 in 10 African girls misses school during menstruation, which can add up to as much as 20% of the academic year. This perpetuates gender inequality and increases dropout rates. Many are forced to use cloth rags, newspapers, or even cow dung in place of sanitary products. Some are even subjected to Chhaupadi, a practice in Nepal where menstruating girls are sent to isolation huts due to cultural taboos.

We need to ask ourselves: in a world advancing with AI, space tech, and global diplomacy, why are girls still bartering sex for pads?

Personal Stories That Demand Action

Menstruation can be an empowering milestone but only when met with knowledge, resources, and support. In one powerful first-person narrative, Frankie Picasso reflects on her own coming-of-age period story: how her first period arrived with confusion, a medieval-looking pad contraption, and hushed nicknames like “Aunt Flo.” She was lucky, she had support. But many don’t.

In villages across Africa and Asia, girls are shamed, isolated, and abused for menstruating. In one harrowing account, a girl describes how she had to rub dried blood on her thighs to hide leakage at school because she couldn’t afford a pad. Another young girl in Kenya recounts skipping sports because she feared her improvised pad would fall off in public.

These aren’t just stories. They are calls to action.
And this is why we must end period poverty.

Education: The First Line of Defence

Menstrual health education plays a vital role in ending period poverty. When girls, boys, parents, and teachers understand menstruation, the shame and stigma begin to disappear. But unfortunately, many schools still treat menstruation like a dirty secret.

In some cultures, menstruating girls can’t enter kitchens, temples, or even their homes. In others, the lack of menstrual knowledge results in dangerous myths like the belief that menstruating girls can spoil food or harm livestock.

That’s why organizations like Girl Power USA are working tirelessly to change this narrative.

They conduct menstrual health workshops, distribute reusable sanitary products, and work on policy change that promotes menstrual equity.

Scotland became the first country to provide free period products in public spaces, and Kenya distributes free pads in schools through government-funded programs. These are blueprints for global action.

The Hidden Cost: Mental Health and Missed Opportunities

Let’s talk about what’s often overlooked: the emotional burden of period poverty.

Girls who can’t manage their periods with dignity often report feelings of anxiety, shame, low self-worth, and social isolation. Many skip school or drop out entirely. Some even quit their jobs.

When menstruation becomes a reason to withdraw from society, we not only deny girls their rights, we fail as a society.

A survey conducted by Plan International found that 42% of girls in India had no knowledge of menstruation before their first period. For these girls, the first period isn’t a rite of passage, it's a trauma. That trauma impacts education, confidence, and future employment.

When you end period poverty, you don’t just hand out pads, you restore mental wellness, dignity, and equal opportunity.

Why It Affects Us All

Let’s be clear: period poverty isn’t just a women’s issue, it’s a societal one.
Menstruation affects half the world’s population. Yet, the burden of its shame and expense is carried almost entirely by women. Would we tolerate children missing school because of a nosebleed? Then why do we allow it for a menstrual cycle?

When we invest in menstrual equity, we promote public health, gender equality, economic progress, and human dignity.

How You Can Help End Period Poverty

The solution starts with awareness, education, and action.

Here’s how you can make a difference:

• Talk about periods openly with your children, friends, colleagues.

• Support organizations like Girl Power USA working on the frontlines.

• Donate menstrual products to shelters and schools.

• Advocate for policies that eliminate the tampon tax and provide free products.

• Educate boys and men, their understanding dismantles stigma.

Final Words: A Period Should Never Be a Barrier

No girl should have to choose between going to school and managing her period.
No woman should feel ashamed or impure for something so natural.
We must stand together to end period poverty, not just for women and girls today but for every generation to come.

Whether it’s by sharing stories, donating pads, or advocating for change, your voice matters. Let’s make “that time of the month” a time of dignity not distress.

Because when you end period poverty, you unlock potential.
And when girls rise, so does the world.