Providing pads to women in need helps break period taboo

The "menstrual pad mutual help box" campaign has caught on with female students in more than 20 universities nationwide following an online appeal from a social media influencer.

Women often face that awkward moment when they suddenly get their period when not carrying sanitary pads in their bags. Three-fourths of female students interviewed by a students' organization in Sichuan Normal University said they had faced the ordeal and would gladly give sanitary pads to someone in need.

That is the essence of the campaign. Any woman in need of a sanitary pad could take it from the box for free and replenish the "stock" later to help other women in need.

The students who launched this campaign said that through it they not only want to help women in need, but also break the unhealthy "menstruation shame" by creating awareness about a normal physical phenomenon that women undergo.

Although sanitary pads are used by a large part of the female population, because of some societal taboos, menstruation is regarded as a personal issue not meant for public discussion. And some people have gone as far as to liken it to a bad omen. It is not uncommon to see women themselves being shy to talk about menstruation pads.

So much so that some salespersons even give customers a black plastic bag to hide the sanitary pads they buy, as if they were doing something shameful.

To help reverse this unhealthy trend, some students of a college raised slogans like "I'm a woman, I menstruate", as part of the campaign to help the public understand women's reasonable demands.

There is absolutely no reason why women should feel ashamed of a natural physical phenomenon.

However, it is good to see some students are trying hard to break the stigma attached to menstruation by creating awareness and motivating women to help each other.