Accessing essential period products can be challenging for some women and girls. Learn more about how our nonprofit partners are helping and how you can support them.
A Syrian girl taking refuge in Lebanon works in the fields of the Bekaa Valley during farming season. For a day of taxing work, she takes home less than $3.
Half of those earnings goes to the informal settlement’s camp manager. The other half goes to the head of her household—maybe her father or brother.
Buying anything for herself with the money she earns means asking them and explaining what it is. But she’s embarrassed to tell them she needs pads for her period.
Her mother manages to purchase some pads for her—the cheapest ones at the store. The plastic irritates her when she goes back to her work in the field. Sometimes, she uses old cloth instead. She’s afraid of bleeding through the cloth, so she makes sure to wear a black dress on those days—just in case.
After the 2020 Beirut port explosion, the challenge to get menstrual supplies got even tougher. About 84,000 people who menstruate were displaced and struggling to take care of their basic health needs in temporary shelters or settlements.
As the Lebanese economy faltered, the cost of period products skyrocketed. The government didn’t consider them “essential goods” and provide subsidies that would make them more accessible and affordable as they did with other items.
For $15, Days for Girls International can make a menstrual kit that offers:
- 2 waterproof shields
- 8 flannel liners
- 2 baggies
- 1 bar of soap
- 1 washcloth
- 2 pairs of underwear and a cloth drawstring bag
- Comfort, peace of mind, and safe care during periods
Give essential period products to women and girls in Lebanon.
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