After watching the short documentary, Period. End of Sentence., I was so moved that I wrote an article about it, Breaking the Taboo of Menstruation for Her Campus UCT, in the hopes that more people would watch it too. So, you can only imagine my excitement when, a few weeks ago, I saw Publicize The Pad’s Instagram posts popping up in my Instagram suggestions. Publicize The Pad is a protest movement, started on campus by three UCT students, that is fighting for public access to free sanitary products in South Africa. In order to bring awareness to a cause that deserves all the support it can get, I asked Publicize The Pad a few questions about their origins, goals, and what it means to end period poverty. I hope it increases your awareness, sparks a conversation, and inspires you to action, the way it did for me!
Can you tell me a bit about each of your founding members?
Nicola Kruger: I am a third-year student at UCT, majoring in Gender Studies, English Literature and Psychology. I am fashion writer and stylist for my own site (www.creaturenicola.com). Whether it be fashion, academics or social life, I have a passion for issues such as Publicize The Pad. I am a person who finds creative energy and determination through the strength of others and feel passionately about the voices of our youth.
Fatima-Zahra Ahmed: I am a third-year student at UCT majoring in English Literature and Film Studies. I have a diploma in Journalism from CPUT and I enjoy writing and photography in my spare time.
Ross Merckel: I am a third-year student at UCT. I am a Bachelor of Social Science student, majoring in Political Science, English Literature and Media and Writing. I am strongly passionate about correcting injustices within society, our country and if not the world. I am involved in youth ministry and possess the passion and drive to take on projects similar to and such as Publicize The Pad. I believe that the youth are able to break phenomenal barriers and achieve goals which benefit not only themselves but the generations around them.
How was the idea for Publicize The Pad sparked? What inspired you to start this movement?
Initially, Publicize The Pad started as a project for our third-year Protest Literature seminar. From the outset it was clear that all three of us were undoubtedly passionate about the topic and wanted to bring about real awareness and real change. The undeniable effect of period poverty drove us to do more. Through the process of hearing people’s stories, seeing the support and finding new ways to bring about awareness, Publicize The Pad has continued to inspire us in new ways.
What is the ultimate aim/goal of Publicize The Pad?
Publicize The Pad is fighting for public access to free sanitary products in South Africa. We aim to ensure that young women no longer have to compromise their education or personal well-being because of menstruation. Publicize The Pad wants accessibility for those who are faced with period poverty. It also aims to open up the conversation about issues surrounding menstruation as there is such a taboo around the topic. We hope that there will be a reclamation of agency through this movement. We also aim to transform the mindsets of people. We want people to recognise and consider others. If something doesn’t affect you, it does not mean that it does not exist. We strive to reveal and break down the hegemonic frameworks which have moulded our mindsets, in order to emancipate our own minds and develop a conscience which considers gender equality, and the perspectives and circumstances of others.
Can you briefly explain what “period poverty” is, for those who are not aware of what it means?
Period poverty is essentially the lack of access to sanitary products and basic hygiene facilities, i.e. not being able to afford pads or not having access to working toilets and handwashing facilities. While doing research for our campaign, we discovered that a third of teenage girls in South Africa miss up to a week of school every month because they do not have sanitary pads. Homeless women also seldom have access to pads, toilets, or even running water and end up reusing old rags as makeshift pads, which is extremely unhygienic and unsafe.
I noticed that one of the ways you are creating awareness, is by putting pads on display in public places, with words on them that ask probing questions, or make important statements – such as: “30% of girls miss school because of menstruation” and “bleeding is expensive”. What was the intention behind these public gestures?
We wanted to bring attention to the topic in a way that would force people to notice. Because of the taboo around menstruation, this issue is often ignored or hidden from the public. Too many women in South Africa are suffering because the government is not paying enough attention to their needs. Our pad messages were our way of bringing period poverty to the public eye and educating people about it at the same time. We also wanted to change the way that people think about menstruation and make them see that it is an everyday part of life, not something that women should hide. Through such means, we wanted women to recognise their agency. People should not live in fear and allow hegemonic systems to oppress their voices. These bold acts of activism and awareness help people recognise that there are people in need and they, too, can act not only on the topic at hand, but on any other topics which they might be concerned about. These acts help people know that there are people supporting them, and they give them a platform to stand on and lift their voices once more.
Since you launched the movement on your Instagram platform, it has gotten an overwhelmingly positive response from the public. I think this is a movement that everyone should support. How can people get involved, and show their support?
We encourage supporters of the movement to sign and share our petition so that we can put pressure on the government to make a change. In the meantime, we are attempting to help out within our communities by placing donation boxes for sanitary products in public spaces and we encourage others to do the same. We’ve placed donation bags with pads in them in some of the women’s bathrooms in Otto Beit, Beattie, AC Jordan and Menzies buildings on the UCT Upper Campus. The pads are available for anyone on campus who might need it. If people would like to get involved, feel free to drop some sanitary products in the bags or set up donation boxes in other public bathrooms.