Menstruation and everything that revolves around it is such a taboo in our society which is why conversations around menstrual hygiene never come to the forefront. Girls with no access end up skipping school because they are not confident enough to be out and about. These girls restrict their movement to schools and to workplaces due to a biological process that is a) completely natural, and b) completely manageable.
This Chauda August, everyone helped change this situation with the help of Always Pakistan, and their campaign #AlwaysAzad. Here’s why this matters:
1 in 3 girls misses out on school due to their periods.
This means that over a million girls in Pakistan aren’t able to go to school, and pursue their dreams.
An incredibly tragic statistic – because nothing should stop girls from chasing their dreams, especially not their period.
We need to talk about why menstrual health is so important. How women do not need to take a break from daily life just because they are menstruating. In fact, movement and exercise are super helpful to combat various symptoms and pain from your period.
Here’s how you can lend a hand to changing that, making sure that girls #AlwaysAzad and have an equal opportunity in pursuing their dreams without any hurdles.
This Independence Day, Always Pakistan is donating sanitary pads to girls who previously did not have access.
Here’s how you can help. It’s literally just two steps:
Step 1: Comment with #AlwaysAzad under the posts.
Step 2: Always Pakistan will donate free pads to women in need all over Pakistan. All you have to do is free them by simply commenting#AlwaysAzad, and the team will donate a pack of pads against each comment received.
It’s just that simple.
Since the campaign has gone live, influencers and celebrities have been lending their support to #AlwaysAzad.
Influencer, Komal Shahid, posted a heartfelt message around #AlwaysAzad. In her post she wrote, “Mulk azad hai, lekin pata nae hum kab azad hongy. No one talks about menstrual hygiene because the topic is a taboo in our country. It’s sad that we have made it a dirty topic instead of educating people about it. This independence day let’s free ourselves from this cage of jahalat! Spread awareness about menstrual hygiene because no access to menstrual hygiene has killed so many women and so many dreams. ”
Actor, Hania Aamir, also posted about the campaign and about her support for the cause.
In her post, she said, “Try going back in time, when you were 12, you got to live every moment of your life with nothing holding you back. We were so privileged that we thought this is all so easy for everyone just like it was for us. But I was amazed to find out there is still a wide number of girls who are still using ‘kapra’ instead of a sanitary napkin. No one in Pakistan takes the initiative to talk about menstrual hygiene. Aisa kyun hai? I believe that as a responsible citizen of Pakistan, it is our duty to liberate these women.”
MangoBaaz also joined in the effort to giveaway pads to those who don’t have access.
And it was heartening to see the overwhelming support from everyone:
Because no girl should be afraid of going out of the house while being on their period. It’s our duty to help other women in Pakistan to be free.
In just 8 days, Always Pakistan has received an overwhelming response of more than 55,000 comments against which donations have been secured, this Independence day. We’re so proud of the women who came forward and supported this cause. It’s high time we all stand for ourselves and for the ones who most deserve it
You can follow Always Pakistan on Instagram here for more updates.
This post has been sponsored by Always Pakistan