happy international women's day! women are powerful and i believe that girls really can rule the world.
today is all about women
- learning about women, understanding women, hearing about women.. you get the idea. not to say that we hate men but women are emotional and need that extra bit of love and affection i guess.
- learning about women, understanding women, hearing about women.. you get the idea. not to say that we hate men but women are emotional and need that extra bit of love and affection i guess.
the 40 acts devotional chose to highlight the importance of period poverty for today. in the uk, 137,000 girls regularly miss school because they are unable to afford sanitary products. this is awful and a disgusting statistic. knowledge is power, and periods, which are inevitable, are prohibiting girls from accessing power.
the challenges for today are as follows:
and i've decided to take up the red option because i feel like it's important we raise awareness for period poverty. most people are familiar with poverty being a lack of food or shelter in third world countries, but it goes far beyond that.
i've grown up feeling quite awkward addressing these female issues. maybe it's related to my asian roots where we often keep things to ourselves and it's all about saving face, or maybe just that there's something taboo about talking about it in public - i don't even get involved with those conversations with my friends or tell people that i have period cramps. but i am determined to speak up for those who miss opportunities because of their periods.
on average it costs £13 a month to buy sanitary products. this means around 43p a day. it may not sound like a lot but let's put this into perspective. this means it costs around £156 a year just to pay for something that we females can not choose not to have.
according to plan international uk, 1 in 10 girls are unable to afford sanitary products. more than 137,700 children miss days off school because of period poverty. they involuntarily lose days of their education purely because they are unable to access something that should be a right. it's ridiculous that we have to pay so much for our dignity, really, and when we cannot, we are receive negative impacts, with girls feeling shameful and low in self-esteem.
i want to do my part by spreading awareness for period poverty and show that this is something that exists and affects growing girls, from as young as 10 years old. so if this has resonated with you in one way or another, i encourage you to spread the love too, whether that be through words or actions. together, let's normalise periods and support those suffering from period poverty.
if you want to go further, here's some inspiring and informative links for you to chew on (it's ok i'm allowed to chew on this too, despite giving up snacks):
- bloodygoodperiod
- tedx talk
now my generous actions of today
1. i surprised my family by coming home today! i haven't been back for a whole month now (which isn't that long compared to me not coming home at all during first semester at uni) but i came home at a good time cos i was feeling homesick as i've been very poorly :( so poorly i had to make my own congee, if you know you know. anyway, technically that doesn't count as an act of generosity cos i booked my train ticket a month ago lol. but, my generosity comes from giving time to them. i feel like that is one of the greatest gifts. giving time shows that you care for someone, you want to spend time with them, you want to get to know them more, you want to interact with them more. so that's what i'm doing, appreciating the time i have with my family more.
2. i received a message on a group chat with my uni flatmates where one guy said he wants to make a pasta bake but he has no cheese and no milk - great one, C! so, i offered my cheese (and milk but he doesn't do soya milk he said)! if you know me, you'll know it's a big 'un for me cos i love cheese. but there's joy in sharing something you like i guess and i reckon he felt my love (despite being miles away) cos he offered me oreos in return - just sucks im not an oreo fan lol it's the thought that counts!
3. this one's rather subtle. i was messaging a friend and i soon realised that generosity is just one of the first things that come to mind in my conversations now, and immediately i questioned what he did today. we quickly concluded he hadn't actively done a generous act today so my next move was to challenge him. while we may not always be able to show other people generosity at face value (perhaps like me you've been ill and been under bed arrest so you don't see anyone), it's super easy to drop someone an encouraging message to help someone else, and be there to support them morally and just inspire them to show generosity.
that's all folks, let's go spread love.
haynam xxx
according to plan international uk, 1 in 10 girls are unable to afford sanitary products. more than 137,700 children miss days off school because of period poverty. they involuntarily lose days of their education purely because they are unable to access something that should be a right. it's ridiculous that we have to pay so much for our dignity, really, and when we cannot, we are receive negative impacts, with girls feeling shameful and low in self-esteem.
i want to do my part by spreading awareness for period poverty and show that this is something that exists and affects growing girls, from as young as 10 years old. so if this has resonated with you in one way or another, i encourage you to spread the love too, whether that be through words or actions. together, let's normalise periods and support those suffering from period poverty.
if you want to go further, here's some inspiring and informative links for you to chew on (it's ok i'm allowed to chew on this too, despite giving up snacks):
- bloodygoodperiod
- tedx talk
now my generous actions of today
1. i surprised my family by coming home today! i haven't been back for a whole month now (which isn't that long compared to me not coming home at all during first semester at uni) but i came home at a good time cos i was feeling homesick as i've been very poorly :( so poorly i had to make my own congee, if you know you know. anyway, technically that doesn't count as an act of generosity cos i booked my train ticket a month ago lol. but, my generosity comes from giving time to them. i feel like that is one of the greatest gifts. giving time shows that you care for someone, you want to spend time with them, you want to get to know them more, you want to interact with them more. so that's what i'm doing, appreciating the time i have with my family more.
2. i received a message on a group chat with my uni flatmates where one guy said he wants to make a pasta bake but he has no cheese and no milk - great one, C! so, i offered my cheese (and milk but he doesn't do soya milk he said)! if you know me, you'll know it's a big 'un for me cos i love cheese. but there's joy in sharing something you like i guess and i reckon he felt my love (despite being miles away) cos he offered me oreos in return - just sucks im not an oreo fan lol it's the thought that counts!
 |
| this is an accurate depiction of my love for cheese. courtesy of subtle asian traits. |
3. this one's rather subtle. i was messaging a friend and i soon realised that generosity is just one of the first things that come to mind in my conversations now, and immediately i questioned what he did today. we quickly concluded he hadn't actively done a generous act today so my next move was to challenge him. while we may not always be able to show other people generosity at face value (perhaps like me you've been ill and been under bed arrest so you don't see anyone), it's super easy to drop someone an encouraging message to help someone else, and be there to support them morally and just inspire them to show generosity.
that's all folks, let's go spread love.
haynam xxx