HER Pakistan
HER Pakistan is the first NPO that GirlsB4Girls partnered with.
Our partnership started in September of 2022, when Pakistan was facing unprecedented floods. The floods caused destruction across the nation; submerging villages, killing livestock, crops, and causing “nearly 10 million girls and boys” needing “immediate [and] lifesaving support” (“Devastating floods in Pakistan”). The flood not only caused Pakistan to go through economic downturn, suffering “$15.2 billion in economic losses”, but more importantly harmed over “20.6 million people [who] require humanitarian assistance, including around 8.2 million in flood-affected areas who need health services.” (“2022 Pakistan Floods”).
The floods also caused women to suffer more than usual during their menstruation cycles, as menstruation items such as pads, tampons, and adult underwear became increasingly difficult to find and afford. According to TIMEs, “[r]elief organizations are rushing aid to affected areas—but supplies of menstrual products are often overlooked. That’s partly because of the stigma around discussing periods in Pakistan” (Mansoor).
With the nation facing period poverty, GirlsB4Girls decided to collaborate with one of Pakistan's largest NPOs dedicated to providing women with period products as well as period education—as with the stigma and misconceptions surrounding periods in Pakistan, many women lack education about how to care for themselves during their menstruation cycle. Upon seeing this, GirlsB4Girls hosted a fundraiser which solicited funds that were sent to HER Pakistan for them to then buy products and hand them out to the women who were struggling during the floods. The fundraiser was a success, making headlines on SingTao Vancouver which helped spread the word of the fundraiser and allowed people to make donations via e-transfer. With the word spreading, we were able to gain more funds allowing us to help more women in Pakistan who were struggling during the floods.
Websites to visit to learn more about Period Poverty in Pakistan:
http://cppg.fccollege.edu.pk/pakistans-period-poverty-neesa-abbas/
https://borgenproject.org/period-poverty-in-pakistan/
https://time.com/6213181/period-poverty-pakistan-menstruation-floods/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/pakistan-floods-women-menstruation-1.6572539
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Works Cited:
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“Devastating floods in Pakistan.” UNICEF, 5 January 2023, https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/devastating-floods-pakistan-2022. Accessed 8 January 2023.
Mansoor, Sanya. “Floods Highlight Period Poverty in Pakistan | Time.” TIME, 14 September 2022, https://time.com/6213181/period-poverty-pakistan-menstruation-floods/. Accessed 8 January 2023.
“2022 Pakistan Floods.” Center for Disaster Philanthropy, 16 December 2022, https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disasters/2022-pakistan-floods/. Accessed 8 January 2023.
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Downtown Eastside Women's Centre
Downtown Eastside Women's Centre (DEWC), was the second project for GirlsB4Girls. Since GirlsB4Girls is located in Vancouver, DEWC gave us the opportunity to help out within our own community. This project allowed us to get a close up experience with the Women in the Downtown Eastside who were facing homelessness and we were given the chance to interact with them, ask them questions and listen to their stories.
With Canada being considered in the top as a high income country as well as a progressive one, still “one in five (21%) girls, women, and people who menstruate in Canada struggle to afford menstrual products” (“Bloody expensive: Four in five of those who menstruate in Canada say period products are too pricey”). According to Schulich, it is “estimated that Canadians who menstruate typically spend up to $6,000” and for those who face homelessness, that amount is not attainable (Parraga). Due to this, GirlsB4Girls wanted to help reduce the number of women who were facing period poverty within their community. GirlsB4Girls was able to contribute by preparing self-care packages that contained pads (nightly and daily), tampons as well as a sweet treat followed by unlimited refills. Moreover, they were also able to send their care packages with their newly created self care pamphlet made in collaboration with Michela Negri an illustrator, content creator, as well as sex educator with over 7000 followers on Instagram to the DEWC as well. With donated 100 pouches, which contained over 2500 products (pads, adult underwear, tampons) as well as extra supply for refills, GirlsB4Girls hope that the women could greatly benefit from these and with further fundraisers and donations they could help close the gap of period poverty.
Websites to visit to learn more about Period Poverty in Canada:
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https://borgenproject.org/period-poverty-in-canada/
https://hillnotes.ca/2021/05/28/improving-access-to-menstrual-products-in-canada/
https://www.cpha.ca/period-poverty-canada-and-around-globe
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Works Cited:
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“Bloody expensive: Four in five of those who menstruate in Canada say period products are too pricey.” Newswire.ca, 25 May 2022, https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/bloody-expensive-four-in-five-of-those-who-menstruate-in-canada-say-period-products-are-too-pricey-862497120.html. Accessed 8 January 2023.
Parraga, Jennifer. “Period Poverty - Rapport - Western University.” Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/rapport/2020/topical/period_poverty.html. Accessed 8 January 2023.
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