The Covid-19 pandemic has plunged the whole world into survival mode, economies are crashing, both at a macro, country level, and at a micro, household level. At times like this, issues that are not openly discussed such periods get easily overlooked or neglected, and this can leave women and girls in a desperate situation.

There are vulnerable women in every society, where the lack of affordability or access to period products causes extreme distress; where in many situations, cultural taboos around menstruation are used like a weapon against them. Women are often their own worst enemies, having never firmly and positively asserted their human rights in this regard. This lack of conviction or confidence has inadvertently helped to create or reinforce the culture of keeping quiet about periods. As a result, women are suffering, from boardrooms, to classrooms and front rooms, there are women and girls who are too embarrassed or afraid to say that they need sanitary pads or tampons. During lockdown, women and girls who had previously depended on the safety net of free sanitary pads at school or at work, now have this additional problem alongside all of the obvious worries.