Why women are marching over their periods

From Cosmopolitan UK

On Wednesday evening, around 1,000 people are expected to protest in central London... and it's all to do with periods.

The Pink Protest takes place opposite Downing Street, from 5pm today where marchers - of all genders and ages - are encouraged to wear red, come with placards and listen to MPs and celebrities speak.

The protest's aim is to encourage Theresa May and the government to provide free menstruation products, like sanitary towels and tampons, to all girls already receiving free school meals. In October, it was revealed that one out of every 10 girls in the UK are unable to afford sanitary products.

The protest follows the creation of a change.org petition called #FREEPERIODS which was launched in April this year. It was started by 18-year-old student Amika George after she began reading about some young girls in the UK having to miss school because they couldn't afford to buy menstrual products.

"I kept re-reading the article because I couldn’t quite believe it wasn’t referring to another country," Amika told Cosmopolitan UK. "It described how poverty was so rife and so crippling in some parts of the UK that children were using socks stuffed with wads of loo roll stolen from public toilets, or with newspaper, or torn up clothes.

"It literally sent a shudder through me, because having a fully stocked cupboard with period products was something I’d taken for granted, pretty much since I began my period. The thought that girls were missing out an education and the opportunity to achieve their ambitions, not to mention the lack of dignity and social isolation that comes with it, because of something so natural and normal really angered me. "

The campaign has caught the eye of over 86,000 people who have signed the petition as well as a whole host of famous faces who will be backing the movement in London today.

At the pink protest, speakers will include models Suki Waterhouse, Daisy Lowe and Adwoa Aboah as well as MPs like Jess Phillips and Paula Sherriff.

Amika started the campaign from her bedroom while she was doing her homework. She says heart-rendering stories she has head includes girls saying they have "leaked all over their uniform" because they've had to make a pad last all day as they couldn't afford any more.

"They’ve been laughed at, embarrassed and humiliated. They can’t concentrate in lessons. Those who can’t face the prospect of going to school stay at home near the toilet, knowing they’re getting further and further behind in class."

The aim is to make sanitary towels and tampons free to those who need it most: Girls from low-income families who are already receiving free school meals.

"Since they’re already means-tested and the government has a list of who these children are, I think implementation is relatively straightforward," Amika says. "Scotland is already committed to providing menstrual products to all schools, colleges and university and are leading the way on this issue. Kenya and Kerala, a state in India, have already pledged to hand out period products to school girls, so why can’t we?"

The peaceful pink protest is held on Wednesday 20th December from 5pm-8pm at Richmond Terrace opposite Downing Street.

Amika's change.org #FREEPERIODS petition can be found here.

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