Meet five young women who champion menstrual management in Ethiopia, Nepal, Tanzania, Turkey and the US — Assembly

Making periods easier, safer and cheaper for every girl.

Every day, poor quality sanitation facilities, lack of access to menstrual products, discrimination and myths force girls to skip school while on their periods.

When girls repeatedly miss class, they are more likely to fall behind or stop going to school. To ensure that menstruation doesn’t stop girls from learning, these five activists are working to make periods easier, safer and more affordable.

(Courtesy of Malin Fezehai / Malala Fund)

Sara Eklund, Ethiopia

Founder of Noble Cup

In Ethiopia, 25% of girls do not use any menstrual health products during their periods, often because disposable pads are too costly. Many schools don’t have private bathrooms, running water or trash facilities, which means girls must return home to manage their periods. Because of these conditions, 17% of girls in Ethiopia have reported missing class while menstruating.

Sara Eklund realised that menstrual cups — flexible, bell-shaped silicone devices that can be inserted into the vagina to catch period fluid — could help girls overcome these obstacles. Menstrual cups are less expensive than pads or tampons because they can be reused for five years and worn for up to 12 hours. They don’t create waste, which is important when adequate garbage disposal facilities are sparse. And they require less water to clean than cloth rags, a critical concern in countries that face water shortages, like Ethiopia.

Sara founded Noble Cup, an organisation that produces and distributes menstrual cups (the first in Ethiopia!) to girls and women across the country. “[Menstruation] is the most natural, normal thing in the world and the unifying thing about it is that every girl is doing it,” she shares. Through Noble Cup, Sara works to make sure that every girl has an affordable and sustainable way to manage her menstrual health.

(Courtesy of McKinley Tretler / Malala Fund)

Nadya Okamoto, U.S.

Co-founder and executive director of PERIOD

In the U.S., an estimated one in five girls have either left school early or missed school entirely because they did not have access to period products. At age 16, Nadya Okamoto co-founded the youth-run nonprofit PERIOD to end this period poverty and stigma in the U.S.

Nadya focuses PERIOD’s efforts on distributing period products to those in need and advocating for policies to improve menstrual equality. On October 19, 2019, PERIOD is holding rallies across the U.S. to raise awareness about the many menstruators who can’t manage their periods because of poverty or homelessness. Supporters will protest the sales tax on period products in 35 U.S. states that labels period products non-essential items.

(Courtesy of Dr. Berna Fidan / We Need to Talk)

İlayda Eskitaşçıoğlu, Turkey

Founder of We Need to Talk

For the thousands of young women and girls who work as seasonal agricultural workers in rural Turkey, clean and safe sanitary products can be hard to find. Sometimes they don’t even have clean water.

With her organisation, We Need to Talk, İlayda Eskitaşçıoğlu provides agricultural workers, Syrian refugees and preteens in remote Turkish communities with enough sanitary pads to last through a harvest season or a semester. She holds Q&A sessions and creates safe environments to talk about menstruation.

“We explain why menstruation is not something to be ashamed of and definitely not ‘dirty,’” İlayda says of We Need to Talk’s workshops. “We remind mothers to have discussions with their daughters about sexual and reproductive health. And we help these girls and women embrace their bodies.”

(Courtesy of Nano Chatfield / The Girls Foundation of Tanzania)

Melanie Msoka, Tanzania

Student fellow with The Girls Foundation of Tanzania

Before high school, Tanzanian student Melanie Msoka studied a lot of subjects in school — but nothing about menstruation and family planning.

“In 2018, there were 69,000 teen pregnancies reported in Tanzania, which shows that early pregnancy is one of the most burning issues for youth in the country,” shares Melanie. “If students learn about menstruation and family planning before they enter high school, we could help stop these high rates of teen pregnancy.”

Melanie joined The Girls Foundation of Tanzania to educate her peers about sexual and reproductive health. At one of her workshops, Melanie spoke to and fielded questions from a room of 715 boys. “I was so nervous at first, but my past experiences teaching these subjects made me confident,” Melanie shares. “These young men were actually very interested in learning about menstruation and early pregnancy.”

Shibu Shrestha, Nepal

Programme officer at Visible Impact

According to menstruation activist Shibu Shrestha, many bathrooms in Nepali schools don’t have toilets, water supply or trash cans. “Some girls must carry their used sanitary pads back home to dispose of them,” she says. “Students find it difficult to openly talk to teachers about menstruation. Because of all these challenges, girls often miss four days of classes a month, ultimately affecting their education and overall school performance.”

With the nonprofit Visible Impact, Shibu teaches students to contest taboos surrounding menstruation and develop friendly attitudes about menstrual health. Both girls and boys attend her workshops. “Men have a vital role to play in ensuring that communities are menstrual-friendly environments,” states Shibu.