I recently read in a New York Times article that the Scottish Parliament passed a bill making women’s sanitary products free on February 27,2020.
Before the bill was passed, pads were only free in high schools and colleges, but through this bill, these sanitary products are free throughout the whole country. Passing this bill means it would add $31 million to the government’s yearly cost.
I think that countries all over the world should try and implement a bill like this to help the women in the world who cannot afford pads or tampons. By making these products free, it can help normalize menstruation.
The New York Times article talks about a research on period poverty by a girls’ rights charity, Plan International UK, states 10 percent of girls are unable to afford sanitary products and another 19 percent use towels, rags, or toilet paper in place of pads or tampons in Britain. There is also a five percent tax on tampons in Britain.
Before pads were given for free in schools, the girls who could not afford these sanitary were forced to stay home
Menstruation is something women cannot control, and the fact that pads and tampons are considered luxury items is insane to me.
Another thing that upsets me is a majority of women are scared to publicly hold a pad or tampon because they are afraid of being period shamed by the guys around them.
In a New York Post article that I had read conducted a poll that they did showed that about 42 percent of women experienced period shaming, 58 percent of women feel embarrassed when they are on their period, 10 percent have been shamed by a classmate, and 12 percent have been shamed by family members.
They also discussed a survey that resulted in 44 percent of the men who took it admitted that they made jokes about their partners when they are on their periods.
Not only do women have to deal with the anxiety and pain of being on their periods, but they also have to deal with being ridiculed or made fun of for it.
I think that we should make an effort to change this by educating all genders about menstruation.
This would help girls learn more about their bodies and help them understand that menstruation is normal for girls.
In a Lancelet Child and Adolescent Health editorial I read, it stated that there were a lot of girls in Asia who did not even know about menstruation and some girls in Iran thought menstruation was a disease.
If these girls were educated about how the menstrual cycle worked and how it’s a normal occurrence, then maybe they would know how to cope with it more.
If guys are educated about it, then maybe they would not shame girls and be more considerate toward them when they are on their period.
This could result in normalizing periods and providing cheaper or free sanitary products for women around the world.
About Post Author
