UN Gender Equality Agenda: Eliminating Period Poverty Is Eliminating a Barrier to Justice

At its core, menstrual injustice is a gender equity issue.

Because menstruation primarily affects women and girls, neglecting menstrual needs perpetuates structural discrimination. When schools lack changing rooms, public toilets lack water, or policies treat pads as luxury goods, people who menstruate cannot participate equally in daily life. Human rights principles require governments and societies to remove these kinds of barriers. Equality requires creating conditions where everyone can participate fully.

Health consequences are also significant. Without safe materials, women and girls may resort to improvised alternatives such as cloth, mattress stuffing, or tissue paper, increasing discomfort and infection risk. But beyond medical concerns lies dignity. Fear of visible staining or odor can cause anxiety and social withdrawal, forcing them to hide during a natural biological process and limiting their confidence in public spaces.

Economic participation is equally affected. Adults who lack menstrual products or supportive workplace facilities may miss workdays or avoid certain jobs. Informal workers, market vendors, and casual laborers are particularly vulnerable because they often have no access to private sanitation during long working hours. Lost working time means lost income, reinforcing cycles of poverty. In this way, period poverty is not only a consequence of poverty, it also sustains it.

This is why at My Flow Foundation-Ke, we do not approach menstrual health in isolation.
Addressing menstrual justice requires systemic solutions rather than isolated interventions. Providing products alone is not enough if stigma remains or facilities are unsafe.

A holistic approach includes improving sanitation in schools, markets and workplaces to help people attend regularly and feel confident. Teaching menstrual health to both boys and girls reduces silence and stigma, helping communities understand that menstruation is normal. Education empowers young people to care for their bodies and respect others.

Affordable menstrual products remove financial barriers and support full participation in daily life, which makes the goal fairness and not dependency. Strong policies are also necessary. Governments and institutions must include menstrual health in public health, education and gender equality programs. Without policy commitment, solutions remain temporary and uneven.

In the end, menstrual justice asks a simple question: can a person participate in society every day of the month? If the answer is no, then justice has not been achieved. Period poverty shows how inequality shapes education, financial security and a person’s sense of worth.
When communities create a supportive environment where menstruation does not limit movement, confidence or opportunities, they strengthen equality as a whole. A society that respects menstruation respects the humanity of those who experience it.

Menstrual justice means no girl should have to choose between learning and hiding, no woman between earning and dignity, and no person between health and participation.

Eliminating period poverty is not only about managing menstruation, it is about removing a barrier to justice itself.

And that is the work we commit to every day at My Flow Foundation-Ke