It may sound silly, unfair or, quite frankly, ridiculous, to brand period wear a luxury item. After all, they are a monthly essential for women across the globe. However, not everyone can afford pads or tampons – this is what is known as period poverty and it’s happening all over the world. In Kenya, approximately 50 per cent of school-age girls do not have access to sanitary products (actionaid.org.uk), while in the UK 40 per cent of girls have used toilet roll because they couldn’t afford menstrual wear (freeperiods.org). Not only does this impact their health and wellbeing, but it also affects their education. If a girl misses school every time she has her period, she is set 145 days behind her fellow male students.
What’s being done?