Building a Conversation Around Menstruation

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Recent events in India are helping bring to light just how critical hygiene and access to facilities are to every woman across the world.

But a week before, Foundation Beyond Belief’s current Poverty & Health beneficiary 50 Cents. Period (50CP), through their stigma-busting Executive Director Lorrie King, was already leading the charge to bring attention to the lack of facilities in rural communities around the globe, and why #MenstruationMatters.

Menstruation Matters was the rallying cry – and Twitter hashtag – for the first ever Menstrual Hygiene Day held on 28 May of this year. The event was held worldwide using platforms like Twitter, Huffington Post and The Guardian and is set to be an annual event from now on. King was the event’s first ever U.S. Ambassador.

While the conversations online and articles covered everything from how menstruation impacts girls’ education in Laos to the economic availability of the maxi pad, the overall theme was the same. The goal of the day, and King’s role of ambassador was “to spread awareness of how women and girls are marginalized in many societies because of menstruation.”

The global reach of platforms like Twitter also helped ensure women affected by social stigma around menstruation from all over the world got to have a stay in how they want to see society change as well. King herself has build 50CP with the understanding that all programs emanate from the clients being served – with their voices first and foremost – a sentiment she echoed in a well-read article in The Guardian published on Menstrual Hygiene Day.

This year’s first ever Menstrual Hygiene Day was an unmitigated success with thousands of activists around the world involved in breaking down period stigma. Next year’s promises to be an even bigger event. And if you missed the fun, check out the archived #MenstruationMatters on Twitter.