Society vs Period Poverty

The Story

In the midst of the third wave of COVID-19 in Malaysia, the online website SAYS.com published an article about a Malaysian woman who came to a 12-year-old girl's aid after she noticed her standing nervously outside a mini-market in Perak. It turned out that the young girl needed sanitary pads, which she didn't have money for.

In her Twitter thread, user @thaarshny — who wishes to be known as Thaarshini — said she was at a 99 Speedmart outlet in Ipoh to get some items and noticed a young girl standing outside. When she was done with her purchase, she saw the girl was still there. Speaking to website, Thaarshini said the girl looked worried and was constantly looking around.

"So I literally went up to the girl and asked her, 'Are you doing good?' (because) she seemed completely lost," she said.

"Then she responded by saying she was having a period and couldn't afford to buy a sanitary pad because she didn't have (enough) money."

"She claimed she was in terrible pain and couldn't afford to buy it since her grandmother couldn't afford it. It's completely heart breaking. She is just 12 (years old)."

The above insert taken from SAYS.com shows how serious period poverty is in our society. If someone can’t afford food, neither can they afford menstrual supplies. Thousands of girls suffer from period poverty and due to them being unable to speak up and the lack of guidance in menstrual hygiene, these girls continue to live in period poverty and in conditions unsuitable for their wellbeing and health.   

We from TEAM 2.0 in collaboration with SERUM Initiative aims to help girls affected by period poverty and to open up the public’s eyes on this matter which has gone too long under the radar in the society.