Fight period poverty & stigma
Lift Bangladeshi girls out of period poverty and combat stigma through education and access to sanitary products.
If you’d like to discuss supporting this project, contact Johanna on +61 474 977 140 or email jo@justpeoples.org
Talking about periods is a social taboo in most parts of Bangladesh. As a result, many girls don’t understand what’s happening to their bodies when they get their first period, let alone how to manage it safely. Using unhygienic materials like rags and old bedsheets, instead of proper sanitary products, leads to frequent illness, embarrassment and skipping school.
This project will enable a team of health professionals to go into under-resourced areas of Bangladesh and educate girls about periods in way that reduces the stigma and shame they currently face. Teenagers will learn to respect and be proud of their changing bodies.
Girls will learn how to confidently manage their periods in a hygienic way, and each girl will receive a pack of reusable, washable sanitary pads as well as a comic book to take home which shows what is happening to her body in a fun and engaging way. From now on, every girl that attends a workshop will no longer have to fear her period, but will be equipped to stay clean and healthy and to attend school every day of the month.
Girls get to ask a friendly health worker all the questions they used to be too shy to ask.
Each girl will receive a pack of reusable, washable sanitary pads.
Women from the most vulnerable areas will receive education to stop stigma and shame.
Meet Sharmin
the woman bringing period positivity and safety to Bangladesh
Sharmin is changing what it means to be a girl in Bangladesh by eliminating the stigma related to periods and bringing menstrual health education to teenagers. In order to make her work accessible and interesting to young girls, Sharmin has created a simple picture book to distribute at her workshops that girls can read in their own time to learn more about what’s happening during their periods. Sharmin has educated over 10,000 girls and boys around Bangladesh so far, and is only just beginning. She is now also manufacturing and distributing reusable sanitary products to girls in poorer areas, to remove period poverty and shame from Bangladesh society. Learn more.
Have a look around one of Sharmin’s workshops in this video, attended by the Just Peoples team. Move your phone around to view 360 degrees of the classroom, or use a VR headset if you have one.
If you would like to know more about supporting this project, feel free to contact christey@justpeoples.org to set up a chat.