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Thinx:The first brand lunching period pants

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Thinx:The first brand lunching period pants

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Shop all | Period Proof Underwear | Thinx

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Shop all | Period Proof Underwear | Thinx

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Menstrual poverty is a very common problem that affects women's physical and mental health and even limits their daily activities. Students and low - and middle-income women are particularly affected. According to statistics, more than 500 million women worldwide are experiencing menstrual poverty.

Not only that, but the inability to afford menstrual hygiene products can lead to 'period shame', which prevents women from properly understanding and accepting menstruation as a normal biological phenomenon given to them by nature.

For example, if sanitary napkins are scarce, women may use cotton cloth or even paper towels as protection, but this is more likely to foster bacteria and lead to other health problems, and girls may be more likely to avoid facing their period for fear of leakage and ridicule.

Women not only have to suffer from physical discomfort during their period, but also worry about the stigma that menstruation may cause, and may even suffer from other people's opinions.

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In college study and life, both myself and my classmates found themselves extremely anxious near deadline. The biggest reason for this is the lack of self-discipline and time management skills of many students. Many of the Gen Z students are only children and are not supervised by their parents or teachers during their university studies. In my own experience, I find that learning with friends and classmates can be very efficient, as we can monitor each other and offer suggestions and creative ideas.

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Propose&Solution: a charity gift pack to Poverty girl in country

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Propose&Solution: a charity gift pack to Poverty girl in country

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I am creating a charity campaign for women who are experiencing period poverty and period shame. It is based on the insight that more than 500 million women worldwide are facing this serious problem and each period can cost on average £10, that’s £130 a year and £4940 over a lifetime. Our brand personality will be friendly and optimistic. It is aimed at women of all ages who have financial difficulties and also teenager girls who lack of period education and acknowledge. According to my research, I want to promote recyclable outwear period pants to maintain a sustainable approach to solve poverty. And combine with fashion trends (like balletcore) to break prejudice and reduce period shame.

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THEIR MISSION:

We fight for menstrual equity* and the rights of all people who bleed.
We give period products to those who can’t afford them and provide reproductive health education to those less likely to access it. And we help everybody talk about periods!

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EVERYBODY DESERVES A BLOODY GOOD PERIOD.

We're fighting for a world built for all women and people who menstruate, so that everybody benefits.

OUR MISSION

We fight for menstrual equity* and the rights of all people who bleed.

Period products aren't free and accessible in the UK, which means that many people can't afford or access them. People who menstruate suffer because of the culture of embarrassment and shame that exists around this natural, biological process.

*Where the world is built for people who menstruate, and everyone benefits. Where no one is at a disadvantage just because they have a period. Sounds bloody great, right?

We give period products to those who can't afford them and provide reproductive health education to those less likely to access it. And we help everybody talk about periods!

​

We are proudly inclusive of everyone who menstruates. Find out more here.

Sign up for the bloody newsletter already.

Join our community and stay up to date with our fight for menstrual equity.

BE A #BLOODY BABE AND
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM

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We are Bloody Good Period. We don't believe that anyone should be at a disadvantage just because they menstruate. We give period products to those who can't afford them, and provide menstrual education to those less likely to access it. And we help everybody talk about periods.

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Menstrual Hygiene Management through Enterprise and Private Sector Engagement

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THERIR MISSION:
Cordaid helps to curb the tide with a simple yet revolutionary sanitary pad. By training underprivileged women entrepreneurs in producing the reusable pads with leftovers of the garment industry. And by making menstrual hygiene a topic of importance instead of a taboo.

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Access to affordable menstruation products is a right, not a privilege. Yet, in Bangladesh poverty and social taboos force half of the adolescent girls and 64% of the women to use unhygienic old rags to manage their menstruation. This period poverty comes with illnesses, school absenteeism, and pungent social injustice. Cordaid helps to curb the tide with a simple yet revolutionary sanitary pad.

Especially in the underprivileged coastal and river chars, the riverine and silted landmasses where floods regularly displace communities, period poverty comes on top of many other challenges.

A recent research paper on menstrual hygiene practices in Bangladesh adequately sums up some of these challenges. "Low-quality sanitary materials, the social culture related to menstruation hygiene management, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (wash) facilities, lack of guidance and privacy for changing and washing at school or home are common issues related to inadequate menstrual hygiene practices."

Combining entrepreneurship, care for the planet, and social justice

In two char districts, Gaibandha and Kurigram, Cordaid is now combating period poverty, promoting women's entrepreneurship, and investing in zero waste sanitary pads all at the same time. How? By making the existing concept of the Ella pad - the eco-friendly low-cost liquid absorbent sanitary pad - available to young girls and women. By training underprivileged women entrepreneurs in producing the reusable pads with leftovers of the garment industry. And by making menstrual hygiene a topic of importance instead of a taboo.

The entrepreneurs that were trained each produce 500 pads a month on average and earn an extra 11.000 Dhaka (100 euros) a month.

Cordaid's Ella pad initiative in Gaibandha and Kurigram districts, which is part of a bigger EU-funded programme (Sustained Opportunities for Nutrition Governance, or SONGO), draws a lot of attention from social innovators. In fact, it has received the honourable mention award in the category of Best Social Innovation in Bangladesh Innovation Award 2022, an event organized by the Bangladesh Innovation Conclave.

This video shows some of the producers and consumers of the biodegradable Ella pad:

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Galiba Rabbani and Arfina Aktar, both based in Bangladesh and closely involved in the initiative, shed more light on the initiative.

"The idea of the Ella pad as a social and zero waste initiative run by poor working women comes from social investor Mamunur Rahman. Cordaid took it to the remote and underprivileged char areas. We engaged female entrepreneurs in Gaibandha and Kurigram with the Ella pad social enterprise," Galiba explains.

The supply-side

12 women entrepreneurs, each coming from a different village have been trained in producing the pads and have improved their sales and business skills. They, in turn, can share their knowledge with other women, thus expanding the initiative. The Ella pad enterprise assures a sufficient supply of garment waste material and shares the technical expertise needed to produce the pads.

"The entrepreneurs that were trained each produce 500 pads a month on average and earn an extra 11.000 Dhaka (100 euros) a month. That alone covers important household costs, like food and education. "At the moment, they still receive the raw material, the garment leftovers, for free. Once we have passed the pilot phase and the women's businesses are strong enough, they will have to pay for that," says Arfina.

The Ella pad example, when massively followed, could save the earth a lot of trouble.

That is the supply side. But what about demand? Where do the eco-friendly pads end up? To women and girls for whom a comfortably shaped, reliable, and affordable sanitary product means a whole lot more than most of us suspect. It brings comfort, relief, freedom, mobility.

Period poverty is a cause of school absenteeism

"Especially in the marginalised rural char areas taboos and harmful cultural practices are stronger than in the big cities. Poverty is more rampant," Arfina adds. "Menstruation comes with social taboos and restrictions. For example, you can't eat eggs or meat. Or worse, some parents keep their daughters inside. They can't go out when they have their period. Traditionally, but also out of sheer poverty, girls use totally inconvenient pieces of old cloth or other solutions to absorb menstrual blood. It doesn't work well, it's unhygienic and it only adds to the shame and the stigma. Girls lose out on classes because of this."

A 2019 study showed that poor menstrual hygiene management including the lack of sanitary pads are important factors of school absenteeism among adolescent girls in Dhaka. In the more traditional and conservative rural areas, like Gaibandha, poverty and social taboos are much more pressing. There, period poverty robs millions of women and girls of educational and other important opportunities in life.

School pad banks

This is why the school pad banks are such an important part of Cordaid's initiative. With six schools so far, we have managed to set up an Ella pad corner. The pads are stored in a wheel-like construction, symbolising the period cycle. Girls can go there to procure reusable pads in packs of four. They're three times cheaper than the commercial disposable plastic pads. "It's a safe corner," Arfina adds. "For each pad bank, there's a small committee of a teacher and a few students who manage the corner. They also organise awareness sessions and tackle issues of stigma and shame. In Bangladesh, these sanitary pad banks in schools really are a novelty."

Frontline work of the nutritious sales agent

About 10% of the Ella pad production finds its way to these school banks. Another 10% is sold directly by the female entrepreneurs involved in the project. But most of the pads find their way to the remotest of char villages and displaced communities, thanks to that inestimable frontline worker of social change in Bangladesh, the nutritious sales agent. They go from door to door, selling key items in places that have no shops. Like baby food, nutrition and hygiene packages, primary health items, contraceptives, prepaid phone cards. And the eco-friendly and reusable sanitary pad.

"The NSAs we work with sell the Ella pads at a slightly higher price than in the school pad banks. They must earn something. But it's still a lot cheaper than in most commercial shops. But the real added value of the NSA is that through them we have access to the most isolated and marginalised communities," says Galiba.

Planet-friendly in three ways

The Ella pad project in the char districts is about more than combating poverty, shame, and social injustice. It is also about ecology. In fact, looking at the global menstrual product industry, the Ella pad example, when massively followed, could save the earth a lot of trouble.

Single-use commercial menstrual products are a cornucopia of plastics. They take hundreds of years to decompose, and billions of sanitary napkins end up in landfills and oceans every year. 12 billion annually in India alone. As they slowly break down, their micro-plastics contaminate soil, water, and the air we breathe.

"In the end, access to safe, ecological, and affordable menstrual products brings relief, comfort, and more freedom to every single user."

The Ella pad is the opposite of that, being a green alternative in diverse ways, as Galiba explains: "First of all if it were not for the Ella pads, the garment waste material they are made of would be burnt. Secondly, the Ella pad is not only made of bio-degradable waste but also reusable. You can just wash it with soap and use it again. Thirdly, it contains no chemicals or plastics. Environmentally, this is a win-win-win product."

There is also the matter of colour. "Women and girls like them because they are affordable and comfortable, and because they're not white, like most disposable plastic pads. They come in many colours, but not white," Arfina says.

Ambitions to take things further

Along with bringing the Ella pad to the char districts of Gaibandha and Kurigram, Cordaid is parallelly piloting it among Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar. "That went very well too," explains Galiba. "Now, we have ambitions to scale up and take things further. Together with the Ella pad social enterprise, we can improve production models. We can also engage with more female entrepreneurs, and expand distribution and sales networks. By doing that we are fighting poverty and promoting social justice. Because in the end, access to safe, ecological, and affordable menstrual products brings more than comfort. It brings freedom to every single user," she concludes.
The Ella pad project in Gaibandha and Kurigram districts is part of the EU-supported programme Sustained Opportunities for Nutrition Governance (SONGO).

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Fighting period poverty: how a sanitary pad can bring social justice (and helps save the planet) - Cordaid International

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Access to affordable menstruation products is a right, not a privilege. Yet, in Bangladesh poverty and social taboos force half of the adolescent girls and 64% of the women to use unhygienic old rags to manage their menstruation. This period poverty comes with illnesses, school absenteeism, and pungent social injustice.

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What is menstrual? What cause this social problem?

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What is menstrual? What cause this social problem?

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Period poverty is a global problem, with millions of women and girls being held back and even endangered by not being able to afford basic menstrual care. But period poverty isn’t just about affordability. Many women and girls don’t have access to hygienic facilities, or feel unable to manage their periods with dignity - often due to stigma or superstitious or religious dogma around menstruation.

Causes: the social culture related to menstruation hygiene management, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene (wash) facilities, lack of guidance and privacy for changing and washing at school or home are common issues related to inadequate menstrual hygiene practices.

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Period Poverty: What Is It & How Can We Help? | Yoppie

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Period poverty is a global problem, with millions of women and girls being held back and even endangered by not being able to afford basic menstrual care.

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In 2017 when Plan International carried out their studies, they found that around half of girls aged 14-21 girls were still embarrassed by their periods:

Almost 71% of girls said they felt embarrassed about buying period products

1 in 10 girls had been asked not to talk about periods in front of their mother or father

Only 1 in 5 girls felt comfortable discussing their period with their teacher

As well as providing affordable solutions to manage periods comfortably and hygienically - empowering girls and women to feel comfortable talking about their periods can also help bring about awareness and action to eradicate period poverty.

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GLOBAL PERIOD POVERTY AND STIGMA GETTING WORSE UNDER LOCKDOWN

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GLOBAL PERIOD POVERTY AND STIGMA GETTING WORSE UNDER LOCKDOWN

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Menstrual Health Day: Global period poverty and stigma worsen under lockdown |Plan International UK

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Girls are struggling with product shortages and price hikes.

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Stories from the center of China's youth culture

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If you find yourself in the northern hemisphere this time of year, the weather could be fierce. To help lift your spirit and warm your soul, we've rounded up a rad selection of new music releases from China! Read More

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The Unspeakable Pain of Period Poverty and Shame in China - RADII

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If you find yourself in the northern hemisphere this time of year, the weather could be fierce. To help lift your spirit and warm your soul, we've rounded up a rad selection of new music releases from China! Read More

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In a patriarchal society under the male gaze, women's movements against things like menstrual shame have met with resistance from men at Chinese universities.

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In a patriarchal society under the male gaze, women's movements against things like menstrual shame have met with resistance from men at Chinese universities.

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A Chinese feminist group inspired female students at over 120 universities to support each other with free feminine hygiene products, but some young men can’t resist bathroom-humor reactions.

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Two weeks after a middle school teacher put a box of sanitary pads in her students' bathroom, a campaign to provide free menstrual products to young women and end "period-shaming" is sweeping across China's college campuses.

Spearheaded by gender advocacy group Stand by Her, volunteers at 126 domestic universities have begun setting up free sanitary pad dispensers in bathrooms, accompanied by posters calling for an end to the stigma against menstruation. The boxes are intended for emergency use, and those who take pads in times of need are encouraged to add one or two back in the future.

Xu Luming, a sophomore at East China University of Politics and Law in Shanghai, is reportedly the first college student to install such dispensers in her campus toilets. "Apart from rejecting period-shaming, I also want to promote the concept of mutual help among women," Xu told Sixth Tone.

A master's student surnamed Fei told Sixth Tone that she and her friends have received welcome support from students and staff alike since taking the campaign to their own campus of Guangxi University in southern China.

"I'm very happy that students at our school have reached out to me on (microblogging platform) Weibo, hoping to join us and set up more of these 'mutual help boxes' in other buildings," Fei said.

However, the campaign to fight period-shaming has also received criticism and even mockery from male students and faculty.

After student volunteers at Minzu University of China in Beijing created a poster with a slogan reading "no period shame," some sophomoric male students altered the design so that it appeared to endorse dispensing cigarette packs, with its new slogan reading "no smoking shame."

At yet another school, China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, male students countered a campus sanitary pad campaign by setting up "communal tissue boxes" in toilets, along with a poster's satirical slogan against "ejaculation-shaming."

"This isn't funny at all, but cruel," read a viral commentary responding to the off-color parody campaign. "There is no comparison between our menstrual pain and your sexual pleasure."

Apart from the perhaps predictable reactions of some young men, the campaign against period-shaming has also been opposed by school officials.

A source familiar with the matter at Beijing Foreign Studies University told Sixth Tone that a professor, upon learning that journalism students were planning to write about the campaign for their campus publication, suggested they should instead "focus more on international affairs." Students at other universities, too, have reported instances of teachers or administrators prohibiting them from installing sanitary pad dispensers in bathrooms.

Jiang Jinjing - Stand By Her's founder, who led a campaign for donating feminine hygiene products to frontline medics in the central Hubei province during the worst of China's COVID-19 outbreak - told Sixth Tone she's accustomed to facing opposition from men on gender-related issues, and that such reactions reflect a pervasive anti-feminist sentiment in China.

"Throughout our history, men have always been at the center of every issue. They're used to being the leaders, including when it comes to women's issues," said Jiang, who is also known online by the name Liang Yu. "They feel uncomfortable about a women's movement, as this is something that doesn't require their opinion."

Despite being a taboo subject in China and elsewhere, menstruation has come to be addressed more openly in the country this year. In March, Jiang's campaign to supply frontline medics with sanitary products made national headlines. And last month, a screenshot of 100 off-brand sanitary pads being sold on e-commerce site Taobao for the suspiciously low price of 22 yuan ($3.30) went viral on Chinese social media, drawing attention to the enduring but oft-ignored issue of " period poverty," especially in rural parts of the country.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that China University of Political Science and Law was located in Shanghai. East China University of Political Science and Law is in Shanghai; China University of Political Science and Law is in Beijing. Editor: David Paulk. (Header image: A sanitary pad dispensing station in a women's bathroom. From @予她同行_Standbyher on Weibo)

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Period Poverty Alleviation Campaign Takes Root on China's Campuses

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Two weeks after a middle school teacher put a box of sanitary pads in her students' bathroom, a campaign to provide free menstrual products to young women and end "period-shaming" is sweeping across China's college campuses.

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Shame and stigma: The taboo of menstruating in South Asia

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Shame and stigma: The taboo of menstruating in South Asia

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The beliefs and practices that revolve around menstruation differ across societies. In some cultures, the menstruating women are victimised due to the regressive attitudes that exist around menstruation. In others, menstruation as a topic is not up for discussion; it is covered in layers of shame and stigma. Nevertheless, what remains common for the women who go under this natural biological phenomenon is that there exist different battles. Actually, these battles have to be fought primarily as a result of some concepts that render women dirty and their bodies polluted; as not sacred enough to befit daily activities. These beliefs reduce women into untouchables and sometimes compel them to live in isolation.

In the region of South Asia, the practices vary from culture to culture, and there is a stark contrast between urban and rural societies. In Hindu societies, families host figurines of deities in their houses that are worshipped regularly with full devotion. The concept of sacred and profane is very widely present in such families, and menstruating women are considered profane. Living in the same space as the god is sacrilegious.

In Nepal, 19% women are banished from their houses to 'chhaupadi goth', roughly translating to menstruation huts. Chhaupadi is a practice in the mountainous western Nepal that forces women to sleep and live in sheds for the duration of their period, due to the belief that menstruating women cause ill-luck to the family, crops, and cattle if the god is displeased. The practice had been outlawed by the Supreme Court in 2005, and recently in 2017 was taken up in the parliament again because it caused death in huge numbers. In 2017 alone, the cases of Chhaupadi related deaths came up and it was immediately re-criminalised with a penalty for the offenders.

Despite this, the practice has not stopped. In interviews that were taken immediately as the nation was outraged by the frequent deaths that took place in western Nepal, the women were questioned if they would still practice Chhaupadior put their daughters through the same after the re-criminalisation and additional penalty. They responded that it was not up to them but on the very societies that coerced them to undergo such malpractice. Furthermore, criminalising the practice would mean filing formal complaints against the family members which is very unlikely. If the women had that kind of powers, they would not be banished to a shed in the first place.

Merely making and implementing of draconian laws is not enough because people house their belief systems in superstitious interpretation of religion. Vulnerable in those sheds, women fear snake bite and animal attacks, mosquitoes, asphyxiation due to inhalation of smoke from the fire built to fight the cold, and sexual predators among others. However, these families see it more deeming that a woman live in a shed outside the house in unsafe conditions just to prevent the house from being polluted by her presence. This all boils down to the fact that a death of a menstruating woman would be justified because at least, the god was spared from pollution, the crops and cattle were intact. It perhaps gets justified as a result of something she did, maybe touch a bottle of pickle, who knows?

A large section of the urbanised sectors lament, often in forms that take of troll posts and memes, about the so-called 'feminists' in the 'East' who limit their talk to menstruation to come off as empowered in contrast to the 'feminists' in the 'West' who battle real and important feminist issues like 'equal pay' and 'glass ceiling'. Dissecting this, it dawns upon a realisation that people in these societies regard the women who talk about menstruation in the open as aggressively progressive. Moreover, they would rather dismiss the topic as something irrelevant and consider talking about it lesser important than talking about other inequalities. However, it is only fitting to be vocal about menstruation as much as required.

We forget to remember that women in remote areas with poor access do not benefit from the choice between various menstrual products at their disposal. In India, less than 16% of the women use marketed feminine products. In various parts of the country, women use sand, or wood shavings or pieces of cloth. Now, the issues that arise are of infections amongst other things. To begin with, these products are unsafe and pose a threat of infections like urogenital infection and bacterial vaginosis. The cloths are repeatedly used without being sun-dried because of the shame of exposure of the used cloths to men and other women. What also prevents these women from using hygienic safe products is due to unavailability for several kilometres, unaffordability arising out of poverty, and embarrassment to ask for even a sanitary pad, especially from male shopkeepers. In fact, 23% of the girls drop out of school upon starting their menstruation. The Indian government, along with entrepreneurs, and educators have worked hard to ensure all women have access to sanitary products. However, the lack of funds, expensive to afford one-use products, unable to maintain quality of the low-budgeted products, and failure to meet the needs of all women in the country are some problems that are faced.

In Pakistan, 80% women do not have access to sanitary menstrual products. UNICEF reported that the biggest hindrance to sanitary conditions was prevented by the lack of washing facilities. In fact, for a country frequented by natural calamities and insurgencies in some areas, women should be educated and encouraged about using hygienic productssince there is always the likelihood of moving to temporary shelters in such circumstances. It was reported that a stunning number of girls are shocked upon menstruating their first time because they were not aware about it. In only a few years to follow, many drop out of school or stay absent from school when they are menstruating, thus hindering their education.

To sum it up, menstruation has been evolved as a shameful event in this part of the world. Menstruating women are shunned and indoctrinated as inferior and unchaste and they do not even fight against the practices but accept it as normal. Firstly, religion has a significant part to play as it is due to the god-fearing purity seeking individuals that seek to maintain the sanctity of their surroundings from where the concept of sacred and impure arise. But, how can any practice be religious if it causes the already disadvantaged more detriment? Secondly, unawareness and equating menstruation with shame and secrecy has worsened the situations to where women are not comfortable with their own bodies so much so that they from birth to death are unaware of their own anatomies. Where mothers are themselves not at peace with their body and bodily functions, passing it on to their daughters is difficult and discussing about it with their sons unimaginable. Lastly, this exclusion of men and terming menstruation as a 'woman thing' has led to men genuinely having no idea what the deal is about and why is it important for women to be safe, clean, healthy, and rested when they menstruate. Thus, a change is necessary by educating women, by subsiding sanitary menstrual products, criminalising discrimination against menstruating women, and by including men in this drive.

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Aryal is a student of Social Science and writes about social and developmental issues pertaining to exclusion, inequalities, and gender disparities in the South Asian context.

Taliban leaders in Afghanistan are institutionalizing gender-based discrimination and violence. By failing the Afghan women, we are failing women everywhere.
In the novel 1984, George Orwell remarked, " If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face-forever". The prophecy made by him in 1949 is now being witnessed in today's world, the testament to which are the gross injustices and human rights violations being suffered by women in Afghanistan. In that sense, the boot belongs to the Taliban leadership in power, and the face is of the dreams that Afghan women once saw for their prosperous future. From banning girls to access education and public jobs, restrictions on their dress code and the recent ban on Afghan Women from working with the United Nations, the heterodox conservatism and misogyny of the Taliban know no bounds.

In August 2021, with the fall of Kabul to the capture of Taliban leadership, the lives of women in Afghanistan have been marred with tribulations, injustices and terror. As the country fell to the Taliban, the cries and agonies of help from the Afghan women have repeatedly been ignored by the international community, left in the cold in the misogynistic regime.

The Taliban have established a system of governance based on systemic inequality and wholesale subordination of women, institutionalizing discrimination through its political, legal and socio-economic structures. Before the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan, women held 27 percent of the seats in the Parliament; today they hold none. They filled up 21 percent of civil services jobs and about 30 percent of roles in civil society organizations, while at least 54,000 businesses were estimated to be run or owned by Afghan women in 2021.

In just two years, decades of progress have been systematically reversed, with 35 million young women and girls previously enrolled in universities and schools now banned from acquiring education, female civil servants, lawyers, private-sector workers and businesswomen losing their livelihoods and being excluded from all avenues of public life.

This ongoing cataclysmic situation is being called to be analyzed under international Law as "Gender apartheid", with women workers and activists at the forefront of resistance to the regime. They are subject to harsh restrictions, under the watchful vigilance of their male household members who are now responsible for their compliance with the Taliban's policy of gender apartheid.

Human rights activists, journalists and workers have been arrested, jailed, and forcibly tortured for their 'moral corruption' in their resistance to the repressive regime. It strips women of their inherent right to lead safe, free and fulfilling lives, being denied something so basic and innate, criminalizing fundamental human rights.

Some progress was made between 2001 and 2021, though social, cultural and political obstacles remained. Consequently, there was some negative reaction to formal government policies from the informal groups in Afghanistan who deemed this slight progress in women's rights as a direct threat to their mechanisms and believed that they were being disregarded. Concomitantly, this allowed the Taliban to tactfully manipulate this reaction to dub the advancement of women's rights as foreign, thus anti-Islamic and unaligned with the Sharia.

Much to the chagrin of women in general and Afghan women in particular, the deafening silence of the Western leadership on the tribulations of Afghan women has been heard loud and clear. The international community has expressed concern and issued statements of condemnation but their words ring hollow and their "feminist foreign policies" prove useless, since nothing concrete and meaningful has been executed to ameliorate the situation in favour of Afghan women.

As the Taliban implement a successful humanitarian crackdown suffocating the rights of women, the authoritarian oppressive regimes of the world watch carefully. The sheer inaction sends out a signal to the autocrats, that women are expendable and their rights are dispensable. Women and girls are the most vulnerable to the global democratic backsliding into authoritarianism, repression of human rights, inequality and increased conflict. Since the war in Ukraine and crises elsewhere, women have been disproportionately affected by the war, comprising a large ratio of refugees and facing widespread sexual violence, characterizing the conflict.

The sidelining of women in the Afghan peace process was not due to the lack of efforts of Afghan women. From grassroots activists to high-level political leaders, they demanded a seat at the table. They publicly warned that a hasty and unconditional withdrawal of troops without an inclusive and participatory peace agreement between all stakeholders could lead to a second stint of the Taliban regime. Yet, Afghan women were silenced and excluded at every step of the peace process between the U.S, the Taliban and the Afghan government,

Two years on, it is conspicuous that the U.S. and Western political leadership traded America's longest war with a perpetual war on Afghan women. In doing so, it has not only violated the sovereignty and fundamental human rights of women in Afghanistan but also gestured to the world which war it finds more palatable. And as that message is having ripple effects in regimes across the globe, women everywhere are less secure because of it.

Women and girls in Afghanistan have grown up thinking of the Taliban days as the dark past of their mothers' past, not as a cycle of terror that could rob them of their future.

The fragility of women's rights in Afghanistan calls for recommitment and urgent focus of the international situation to the deplorable gender apartheid. The international community's toolkit is limited and their political will seems questionable.

In the past decades, women have struggled and fought for their rights, with uneven but important achievements. Standing beside Afghan women in their resistance and struggle against the repressive regime, and finding ways to pressure the Taliban leaders to make reparations for the injustices done, is the very least the international community could do.

A well-coordinated global action is the only way to mitigate the institutionalized discrimination against Afghan women in ongoing gender apartheid. By criminalizing systemic discrimination against women under international law, the international community has a clear lever with which to denounce and put pressure on the Taliban, simultaneously assisting the civil and military resistance against the Taliban regime.

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'Through first class education, a generation matches down the long uncertain road of the future with confidence."-Wynton Marsalis

Education is regarded as the third eye of man. It enables him to develop a sense to differentiate between right and wrong. It has a potential to turn all trials and tribulations in peace, progress and prosperity. Education acts as a custodian of nations rights. It is education not a standing army that guards nation. It is meant to nature the minds and shape destiny.

Unsurprisingly, Sindh lacks behind in standard of the education. Education in Sindh is totally ruined, there is no quality education. Many schools in rural area are closed since decades. There prevail ghost schools. Copy culture is rampant and educational boards give high grades on kickbacks. Infrastructure is destroyed. Syllabus is outdated and obsolete. Teachers in province are untrained and incompetent. There are no extracurricular activities in educational institutions and prize distributing ceremonies are very rare. Education standard in Sindh has worsened. It has been nothing but a handsome business to acquire money. Fee of private schools is scaling new heights. There prevails an educational apartheid in public-private schools which has further deteriorated the education standard in the province. As the problems are high and severe, they need a range of viable solutions. Government must update the obsolete syllabus. It needs to develop a uniform syllabus at per modern needs and requirements. It must bring an end to the menace of corruption and rampant copy culture. In order to bring a positive change, policy makers should adopt those strategies which could ensure merit based recruitment of teachers. It should device plans to make sure the increased number of enrollments in public schools. A vibrant education policy is the need of hour. More Funds need to be reserved for educational development projects. Modern labs and research centers should be established. In addition to that, Public-private partnership could prove fruitful. Such pragmatic measures are supposed to uplift the worsen education standard in Sindh and make it in line with 21 st century needs and demands.

It should be noted, Education doesn't merely provide information to the young souls rather it is a social construct. "The highest education is that which doesn't merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence." Rabindranath Tagore. It confers upon people, the sense of responsibility and develops their attitude towards others. It promotes peace, harmony and respect for diversity. It transforms information in innovative ideas and makes the best use of that for man to achieve all summits of success and glory. Nelson Mandela; A revolutionary from South Africa, has rightly said, "Education is the most powerful weapon that we can use to change the world". It is education which paves way for nations to prosper and progress. It acts as a stair to peace, prosperity and privilege. This is therefore, The Last Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad (SAWW) has said, "Seek Knowledge, even if you need to go to China for it."

Education standard in Pakistan and in Sindh particularly, is ruined. Education in Sindh is in tatters. It doesn't follow the internationally standardized method of teaching and education. It lack in almost all area. Sindh's education is full of flaws and its standard is ailing. Being signatory of the Treaty under the Dakar Framework, signed in Senegal in 2000, the province has to provide free education up to primary level at any cost. The enhanced slogan of Dakar Framework is Education for All (EFA). But a recent report by UNESCO has declared that Pakistan and particularly Sindh is at lowest EFA index because of low enrollment at primary schools, adult literacy, gender equity and equality and quality of education. Sindh is encompassed with enormous problems and all these pose a great challenge to education sector of Sindh. Sindh's education standard is adversely affected by these problems. UNESCO report vociferously depicts the deteriorated Education standard in Sindh. It is confronted with many problems. Syllabus taught in the province is obsolete. It is no longer in use; anywhere in the world. Outdated syllabus is of no use. If it is taught, it won't be providing updated information rather would confuse the minds. To prosper the fresh minds, it is necessarily to acquaint the students with accurate and updated information. One cannot deny the fact that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Hence, outdated use of information is dangerous for fresh minds. To add an example, atom is divided in more than 22 particles but syllabus taught in Sindh still tells that atom has three parts Electron, Proton and Neutron. Same is the case of English Grammar, British have shun the use of shall and will but decades old syllabus in Sindh still insists the use of such obsolete helping verbs. Passing of correct and updated information is as necessary as education itself.

Likewise, in the wake of devastating floods of 2010 and monsoon rains of 2022, public education is province of Sindh has faced an existential threat. Estimates indicate that, almost 16,000 out of total 36,648 functional public schools were been badly damaged, either by flood victims of 2010 or by those who took shelter in them. According to Sindh government, almost 20,000 schools (Primary, Middle, Secondary, and Higher Secondary) schools have been affected. 7,503 schools have been completely destroyed. And the buildings of almost 12,305 schools have been partially damaged. The monsoon rains have affected the education of 2.4 million students at all as per government report. School infrastructure in Sindh has already been in tatters and the recent wave of very harsh monsoon rains has made it even more worse.

Ironically, the education boars have started a new business of selling high grades at kickbacks. It is a very dirty game played by educational boards in Sindh. Those students with well-to-do families and high background are offered A-1 grades by while the meritorious students are deprived of their right to secure high grades. Nepotism has entrenched it roots very deeply in education boards. Marks and grades are sold out to influential students and to the Kith and Kin. This practice of corruption is a serious threat posed to the talented students of the province. The poor students who burn midnight coils to reach the destiny are kicked back by such notorious practices. The practice of taking bribery is very disappointing for competitive students because it ultimately sacks their bright futures. It is an assassination of the dreams and aspirations of competitive students.

Pathetically, the teachers in education sector of Sindh are less competent and even less educated. Teachers play a pernicious role in nurturing a mind. It is a teacher who educates the students and develops their mental outlook. A teacher can prepare a good student. It provides a base that could affect whole society in a very positive manner. If a teacher is competent, talented, updated, he would be an immediate cause to develop student's interest in educational activities. On the other hand, if a teacher will be dull, incompetent and less aware, he would remain annoying for the students. Such teachers yield very negative results in regard to students learning outcomes. Therefore, it is very mandatory to hire the teachers purely on merit basis. It is because the competent, talented and meritorious teachers make children interested, active and vibrant in achieving their higher goals.

Education department could produce such highly competitive teachers when it will remain full fledge in running its affairs. Political Interference in educational institutes produces no good sign. Unfortunately, Sindh is engulfed with that problem too. Political figures and high officials are found directly involved in recruitment policy. They exert pressure and influence in order to get their specific candidates recruited. Their very interference in universities and colleges has further aggravated the situation. Their interference and influence is very deep rooted that even the transfer and posting- form peon to principal is made through their consent. Those who decline their orders are removed from the chair immediately. The educational sector is weak that local representatives of political parties order the transfer and posting of teachers and other staff at their will. And this is not an end, if someone at chair in education department would disapprove their consent, he would be transferred to remote area. This blue practice has a severe impact on education standard in the province.

Similarly, another problem is that of low allocation of funds. Government of Sindh spends 22% of its budget on education sector. It is not enough, because a huge chunk of this amount goes is salary of teaches and other staff members. The remaining funds are not property utilized. There is manure of funds as well. A huge amount is wasted in inappropriate means. Sometimes because of the incompetency of high officials, a good amount of funds is lapsed and the reaming is unnecessarily used. Following the 18 th Constitutional Amendment, education became provisional subject, but despite that, funds allocation I education sector has ridiculously went to lowest ebb. There prevails a hollow situation. Due to the shortage of funds, new educational institutes are not established. Sindh province has only twenty universities at all. This shows that the province is deprived of quality education. On the other hand, Hiroshima; a city in Japan, almost destroyed by an atom bomb- has above twelve universities .A city of just nine hundred thousand people has maximum number of educational institutes. Contrary to that, Sindh having a population of 60 million has got very least universities.

Likewise, each individual has some inner capabilities. There dwells an artist is each soul. The dire need is to find it, shape it and present it before world. Such talents are wasted because of copy culture. It exists like monster that eats the talent of student and deprive them of creativity and innovative ideas. Copy culture is deep rooted in education sector. Resultantly, such students who are used to copy culture prove themselves to be burden on educational institutes. Though, a piece of paper cannot judge the abilities of an individual. It is talent and confidence which offer man high prestige and esteem in society. Quaid -e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in an education conference had said very meaningful words "education" Doesn't merely mean academic education and even that appears to be of a very poor type what we have to do is to mobilize our youth and build up the character of our new nation".

Sadly, it is to write that, the resources rich province of Sindh has failed to provide even the basic facilities to its children. Infrastructure is deteriorated. Schools don't meet the basic necessities. Washrooms are not available. Pure drinking water is also unavailable. Desks are broken. Even the roof cover to many school are out. It is very disappointing situation. Sindh government has completely failed to provide its children, the learning induced environment. Girl's schools have no boundary walls at all. The electricity connections are missing even in the primary schools. Schools of Sindh are not meeting with basic facilities by fits and starts. Out of 12 million children more than 6.7 million children are out of schools. According to some estimates, literary rate has actually been declined from 60pc to 58pc. With regard to urban-rural gap, 73pc of population above 10 is said to be literate in urban areas while rural areas experience a sharp decline in the race which has stood at 39pc in as per new report. When it comes to girls education, things are more than worse. Government of Sindh has not taken any serious step to get those children enrolled them. During that critical time, education minister of Sindh Sardar Ahemd Shah has issued a notification is which wearing Ajrak (a traditional Sindhi chadar) has been made compulsory. When student don't have washroom facilities to respond to the call of nature, there issuing a notification for wearing an Ajrak would change nothing and affect nothing.

Simultaneously, the ghost schools are another problem. Stories about ghost schools have keep surfacing in print and electronic media but government has paid no heed toward it. Ghost schools have haunted Sindh's education. These schools are declared functional in paper work only. To add an example, a school named Government Primary School Lal Bux in Dokri is reported to be a ghost school in Dawn Newspaper. Another village Government Primary Boys School Kamal Khan Chandio in Taluka Kamber is another stance in view. There has been much news published in different dailies regarding ghost schools. It is an alarming situation which needs proper handling.

Moreover, technical education is as necessary as an academic education. But unfortunately, this sector has not been paid much attention. Sindh also lacks in vocational education as well. Number of technical and vocational Institutes in Sindh exist but are not enough to provide skills to the jobless students. Unskilled, untrained and non-technical youth is burden on an economy. Technical education needs priority handling by the government. Same is the case with special education. Children with special physique cannot be properly educated with normal children. For this very reason, special education centers are set up. Sindh has almost 49 special education centers but this number is not much satisfactory because more than 50% of special children is out of schools in Sindh. If all the children with specialties would be educated, trained and provided technical assistance, they would contribute more to the national cause of development and progress. Physical disability cannot deter talent and skill to grow and shine. The dire need is to provide such students opportunities so that they could prove their mettle.

Additionally, education has because a handsome business in Sindh. Education is imparted to produce the sharp and creative minds rather than earning money. Private schools have set their own standard of education to attract the maximum number of students. The fact is that, these institutes don't strive hard to produce quality rather emphasize on to increase quantity.

People of Sindh experience educational apartheid. On the one hand lie public sector schools and on the other hand lie other private schools. These differ from each other to every possible extent. Public sector schools lack basic infrastructure and competent teachers while private schools focus much on well decorated classrooms and infrastructures. The facility at provide school is given trainings about etiquettes and behavior. They promote friendly environment with students in order to attract the lucrative business. While public sector schools present a drastic image. Parents are literally afraid of sending their children to government schools. Broken chairs, unavailability of water, electricity shortfalls and incompetent teachers are the main reason behind the rapid emergence of private schools. The imbalance between the two sectors has widened the gap of learning as well. Syllabus taught at private sector is completely different. Private schools follow Oxford and Cambridge syllabus and offer A Levels and O Levels. While public sector schools go with outdated syllabus which has no match with Oxford and Cambridge syllabus. This shows a very gloomy picture in regard to standard of education in Sindh.

Despite this, it could not be said that public sector is not producing good minds. These also cater the cream for future. In the words of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, "some of the brightest minds in the country can be found on the last benches of the classrooms". Most genius students are also produced by public sector schools. Though the degrees offered at both sectors are same but the scope of knowledge is different. Contrarily to that, Madaris, religious educational centers, pursue religious syllabus where Arabic and Persian languages are taught. Urdu and English languages are almost neglected. A Madarsa student can never be fitted in the race of getting a job. Because of his nurturing being confined only to religious education, it cannot cater something new to society. It is a miscellaneous situation where every sector has its own syllabus, language and teaching methodology. This indifference creates a gap between students who have to compete with each other at national level. Medium of instruction play a coordinating role in enhancing the capabilities of students collectively. But sadly, Sindh presents a dark picture in this accordance.

Moreover, there prevails a different medium of instruction at government and private schools. Public schools prefer Sindhi and Urdu language as a medium of teaching while private schools and Madarsas emphasize on English and Arabic respectively.

Furthermore, poverty also adds fuel to the fire. It plays a pernicious role in downing and ultimately declining education. A man on hungry stomach can never pay heed towards education of his children rather would engage them in child labor to earn morsel of food. One who cannot properly satiate his hunger cannot afford to send his child to school. Poverty is a major cause which hinders education in Sindh. If one goes for education, he would have to risk his livelihood.

Along with poverty, unawareness is another setback for education sector. People are unaware of the advantage of education in general. Education is regarded as a business of rich and affording people. Many people prefer their ancestral business meet their basic needs. They are unaware of the fact that education enables man to differentiate between right and wrong.

Simultaneously, many children in a single family is another cause of low enrollment in schools of Sindh. Parents having more than a specific number of children face many problems. Due to lack of planning and awareness, parents keep on producing children and leave everything other thing to Allah Almighty. They believe Allah Almighty himself has taken the responsibility to provide food and shelter to all the people. Sadly, they are blinded to the fact that, "Even God helps those, who help themselves".

Indeed, Sindh is engulfed with enormous problems which ultimately hinder the standard of education but it doesn't mean that it would last forever. Such issues could be sorted out. These need proper consideration with utmost dedication. There are many pragmatic measures available which if taken could bring about transformation is education sector of Sindh. And ultimately revolutionize it.

First and foremost initiative that Sindh government should take into action is to update the curriculum taught at schools. There is dire need to keep the syllabus updated. If it remains obsolete and no change is made in it, it would rather rust the minds. Hence, it should be set on modern principles of teaching and learning because, In the words of Aristotle, "education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity".

Additionally, there is a need to eradicate the menace of corruption. Corruption in educational institutes halts the rights of meritorious students and overshadows their excellence. Unless, corruption is stopped institutions cannot grow stronger. Eradication of culture of nepotism and bribery is as necessary as updating the syllabus and its renewal.

Moreover, efforts should be made to bring down the student-teacher ratio to 15% which stands at 40% currently. To serve the cause, government should appoint teachers on vacant position, very immediately. Shortage of teachers is a serious drawback in education sector of Sindh. All vacant jobs should be filled and even new jobs should be created. To raise the education standard in Sindh, government must assure merit, quality and excellence. Teaching fraternity should be appointed purely on merit basis. It must over throw the culture of favoritism and kickbacks in order to ensure quality education.

Ironically, Sindh government doesn't spend much of its budget on education. The number stands at 21%. This amount must be doubled to meet pay the teachers and meet with other officials expenses and the expenses of development projects. A sizeable chunk of funds and education budget is swept out in salaries, the remaining development funds are not used properly. There have been reported many irregularities in utilization of those funds. Government should keep an eagle's eye on funds distribution and its usage. It should increase the education budget because spending on education means sending on generations.

It's been years, government has not introduced an educational policy. It should be chalked out immediately to serve the cause of education. There are many stakeholders in education sector so, Sindh government should discuss, debate and draw an education policy in consultation with all the stakeholders. A teacher plays an important role in this regard. Therefore, all and sundry attached to education department cause should be made consulate in order to formulate a favorable and effective policy. Public and private sectors both should be given equal weight age in dialogue session to come up with a decisive policy.

Apparently, the government works for promoting and maintaining the standard of education but the worst dropout ratio and notorious education system presents an extremely deteriorating picture. Hence, Sindh government should declare education emergency in the province. Problem of education should be given a due consideration. It should be listed in priority cases. Government should shun unnecessary activates and focus on education.

Besides that, technical and special education should be added in regular system. Technical education makes youth capable enough to earn their livelihood. Special education enables children with disabilities to become self-sufficient, self-supportive and self-motivated. With the ever growing population, demand for vocational, technical and special education increases. To cater the needs, government should emphasize on establishing such institutes. It should held seminars and conferences to promote technical, vocational and special education. A saying by an anonymous person describes well, "Every student can learn but not in the same way and on same days".

Apart from this, to provide latest and updated information at education institutions, government should establish modern labs and research centers. Sindh doesn't need educated minds rather it needs minds with innovative ideas and creativity. Research centers play a healthy role in increasing the capacity of students. Modern labs equipped with every apparatus and needed instruments are the need of the hour. Norman Levis has rightly said, "A library is a delivery room and a birth place of ideas, a place where history comes to life'. One cannot deny the fact that libraries are like nurseries where people learn to think at their own. Understanding deeply the importance of libraries, government should establish the network of public libraries in every corner of the province. A library is an essential component of education which needs to be promoted.

In addition to that, there prevails a strong disparity between public and private sector. This must be bridged to introduce a uniform system of education. Sindh government must focus on lessening the gap between the two sectors. Both the sectors promote educational cause but differ in medium of instruction, quality of education and uniform syllabus. To provide equal opportunities to all students public-private partnership should be aired and enhanced .Two systems of education in one province air different approaches and widen the gap between poor and rich. It is the responsibility of government to provide equal opportunities to its students. Therefore, a uniform syllabus should be developed. If government schools would follow outmoded and decades old syllabus and private schools would impart modern education this would create an educational apartheid. Hence, it becomes mandatory to develop a uniform syllabus.

Similarly, university professors and rather concerned faculty should be encouraged to translate foreign research work and papers in native languages. This practice would add up some literary treasure In Sindh. Such work could benefit millions of students, professionals and researchers. A province cannot go in isolation in 21 st century in an arena of modern science and technology. This is the century of inter-connective ideas and exchange of information. Solo nations cannot prosper without giving modern teaching methodologies and work a due and viable consideration. In order to keep a pace with 21 st century's needs and demands, government should promote better environment for teaching and learning.

Likewise, needy and well-deserving students should be offered financial assistance and scholarships to meet with their educational expenses. They must be motivated rather than rusting their minds and moral. To make the best use of their talent and excellence, government should generate opportunities for them, the best it could. It should establish committees on District and Taluka level to accommodate deserving student. Fully funded merit based scholarship programs should be introduced making the mechanism easy, approachable and accessible for poverty stricken and helpless students. Often, they lose hope because of unavailability of resource. If government would take this responsibility, this move would develop their confidence in institutes. In result to that, they would offer the best of their valuable services for the progress and property of their nation.

To conclude, Sindh government should realize the importance of education because it is education which makes nation stronger and paves way for its development. It should cut the non-development expenditures. Rather than spending on lavish assembly halls, cultural celebrations and new experiments in education sector, it should utilize that amount on organizing educational conference, seminars, science exhibitions and IT expos. It must shun all pompous appendages. Hence, if education will be prioritized, nation would guard itself well than a sanding army. In the words of Nelson Madela, "education is the most powerful weapon that we can use to change the world''. Malala Yousafzai too has endorsed this in her autobiography; I Am Malala, One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world.

Related

According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022, in some countries, women are more than twice as likely as men to experience discrimination on the grounds of sex. One third of persons with disabilities experience discrimination. The pandemic has further intensified structural and systemic discrimination whereas the post-Covid recoveries appear to be sluggish. A rise in income inequalities has been witnessed, jeopardising decades of progress and worse yet, this increase may become entrenched due to the pandemic induced disruptions with the low-income households bearing the brunt, exacerbating intergenerational mobility. Discrimination remains pervasive among women and people with disabilities with roughly one in five people having experienced discrimination on at least one of the grounds prohibited under international human rights law. Social inequalities have been plaguing Pakistan and evolving into a vicious self perpetuating cycle of crises that is incapacitating the development opportunities for the country.

While the world moves towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Pakistan's performance remains modest at best. While Pakistan has shown some progress in SDG 1 (no poverty) SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 17 (partnership for goals), its progress on certain dimensions of Sustainable Development lacks ground. With respect to SDG 4 (quality education), Pakistan's progress remains dismal, with a surging 9.2 million children out-of-school. The national literacy rate remains stagnant at 60%. Performance along SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) indicators is sluggish, with high levels of income inequalities and declining real GDP per capita rate. In the times of climate change urgency, Pakistan's contribution to SDG 13 (climate change) is minimal with growing greenhouse gas emissions and current highly monopolised fossil fuel system.

Pakistan is no exception when it comes to social inequalities. There are evident multifaceted inequalities within the country along spatial, ethnic, gender demarcations and concomitantly affect the human development prospects. Pakistan remains a highly unequal society and the gnawing divide between the have and have-nots seems to be ever increasing, not only in terms of economic disparity and income inequality but is also influenced by gender identities. Women, generally, bear the brunt of poverty more than men, hence the phenomenon "Feminisation of Poverty". In Pakistan, the 18 million richest people's total consumption is 1.5 million more than the poorest 75 million. Inequality has varied manifestations - racial, economic, gender - and they all work in conjunction to make it pervasive.

Pakistan ranks last in women participation in the workforce among South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), as per Oxfam study. Women comprise 42pc of total family labour but unfortunately this major contribution goes unrewarded and unacknowledged as their output has never been recorded in national statistics. Female labour participation has a 17pc rate as compared to a major 71pc that of males. Agriculture might have the largest female participation but approximately 80pc of women are unpaid workers. What's even more worse is the fact that women own less than 3pc of the land despite being such a strident force.

The number of out of school children in Pakistan is the second highest in the world, even though Pakistan's constitution promises education as fundamental right and assures free and compulsory education for all children up to 16 years of age. Gender disparity in education represents an even bleaker picture indicating that for every 100 boys only 86 girls are attending primary or lower secondary school. These numbers represent the social and economic impediments and pressures that prevent girls from attending schools.

The declining middle class may be attributed to Pakistan's drive towards adopting liberalisation of trade, the stringent conditionalities imposed by International Financial Institutions (IFI) for debt restructuring, ongoing inflation and surge in global commodity prices to name a few. Elite Capture can explain the low levels of direct taxation and overall low tax-to-GDP ratio, both contributing to economic inequality. Within a regressive taxation system, the burden of taxes fall on the poor and marginalised sectors of the economy, thereby impairing their ability to spend and invest in productive ventures such as education and healthcare, thus further deepening inequality.

Extreme inequality dynamics as such pervading in the society plagues the society with the menaces of corruption, poverty trap, stifles social and economic mobility and thwarts potential for development. It not only presents a threat to the democratic system but also deepens the quandary of poverty, engulfing the society into self-perpetuating destructive crises.

Such social inequalities become an impediment in achieving sustainable development, threatens long term social and economic development, harms poverty reduction and destroys people's sense of fulfilment and self-worth, which in turn engenders poverty, crime rates and environmental degradation. Sustainability cannot be achieved if people are excluded from the hope and chance for a better life. Sustainable development can be achieved making the planet better for all only when it's all-inclusive, leaving no one behind.

There may be no simple panacea for solving social inequalities in Pakistan, but responsibility to make a change should be actualized and the buck must stop somewhere.

For starters, the government must prioritise and enhance expenditure in Public Sector Development Work (PSDP) and social safety nets. More programmes such as Benazir Income Support Group (BISP) should be implemented to reach the poorest and marginalised groups of the society via an all-inclusive participatory approach. Secondly, the government needs to improve the asset holding capacity of the poor and marginalised through tangible asset for instance loan programmes, land reforms, agriculture and micro credit for farmers, as well as intangible assets such as educational, technical and vocational skills and training. Furthermore, as an economic security measure, the government should introduce a minimum wage and a minimum employment guarantee scheme and ensure its implementation across federal and provincial levels.

For reducing inequalities, greater efforts should be mobilised towards transformative change, by eradicating extreme poverty, hunger and prioritising investments in education, healthcare and social protection. Political, economic and social policies should be formed paying special attention to disadvantaged, marginalised and vulnerable communities. Governments, NGOs, Civil Society and other major stakeholders need to ensure that developing countries are better represented in decision making on global concerns in order to make the solutions more credible, accountable and effective.

In the midst of struggling with a moribund economy and plethora of crises, Pakistan cannot afford to delay its development opportunities due to social divides. Understanding the various manifestations of social inequalities in Pakistan and preparing tailor made solutions rather than resorting to adhocism and cookie cutter approach, is crucial in mitigating the current quagmire by taking the first step towards sustainable growth.

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Shame and stigma: The taboo of menstruating in South Asia - Modern Diplomacy

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The beliefs and practices that revolve around menstruation differ across societies. In some cultures, the menstruating women are victimised due to the regressive attitudes that exist around menstruation. In others, menstruation as a topic is not up for discussion; it is covered in layers of shame and stigma.

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Any invasive menstrual products are taboo in Asian countries

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Any invasive menstrual products are taboo in Asian countries

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The promise of ‘self-liberation’ embodied by tampon use first requires women to have control of and autonomy over one’s own body.

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Why Tampons Have Yet to Catch On in China

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Thirty years after their introduction to the Chinese mainland, tampons have yet to fully win over Chinese consumers.

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Based on the research, this survey will study the status of menstrual shame and menstrual product choice among Asian women.

Since I have not come into contact with people with menstrual poverty in real life, the main research direction of this questionnaire is the relationship between menstrual shame and people's choice of products under traditional cultural background.

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1. Did you ever feel scared or intimidated when you first got your period?
2. Were u afraid to bring up the topic of menstruation with your friends or family members during adolescence?
3. Did you have eduction about menstruation and women's physical health when you were in school?
4.What products do you use during your period?
5. Have you ever used and invasive menstrual products?
6. If not, what is the reason led you not use these products?
7. Would you like to try eco-friendly washable cotton sanitary  pads?
8. Have you ever felt uncomfortable or allergic when using sanitary pads?

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I ask 21 women (between age 14-50) in china about the usage of menstrual products.

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Based on the survey results, I found out that they used penetrative menstrual products at lower rates than sanitary pads and pants, and none of them used menstrual cups. And in connection with cultural taboos in Asia, I'm going to make menstrual pants. As this is an educational public benefit activity, my main target customers are girls who have just had their menstruation and women who have wrong understanding of menstruation under the influence of culture and religion. I think menstrual pants are the most acceptable and reusable product for them.

This project can be a charity campaign for a well-known feminine products brand, but ordinary consumers can also buy it. Its operating model is that all the profits of ordinary consumers, the brand will be used as the charity part of the start-up capital. That is, when consumers buy this product, they also donate it to a girl with menstrual poverty.

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“Use tampons after you get married” in China

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“Use tampons after you get married” in China

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(Yingzhi Yang/Los Angeles Times)

Simon Lai has no personal need for tampons. But this year, the resident of southern China's Guangdong province expects to buy more than half a million dollars worth of the feminine hygiene products in Los Angeles, ship them across the Pacific, and sell them for a good profit.

His business on Alibaba's e-commerce site Taobao is called Puff House, and it specializes in personal care items. Between June of last year and January, he sold $180,000 worth of imported tampons, making him the biggest vendor of Tampax products on the platform.

"The tampon business has grown much quicker than I expected," Lai said.

Lai is filling a void in the market. Although Chinese consumers have in recent years embraced countless Western products including Levi's jeans, Converse shoes, Chanel perfume and Nivea antiperspirant, a complex mix of cultural and commercial factors have kept tampons from widespread acceptance, and interest in them is just starting to take off.

Tampons came first came into use in the United States in the 1930s, and more than 70% of American women now use them., But while Chinese manufacturers produced 85 billion sanitary napkins last year, not a single one of them made tampons.

There are many barriers to acceptance in China, starting with a lack of sex education. Even young Chinese women say they know little about their body parts and fear (mistakenly) that tampons will break their hymen and rob them of their virginity.

China's media regulator, meanwhile, has banned advertisements of feminine hygiene products on TV at lunchtime and during prime time, reasoning that such commercials, along with ads for hemorrhoid treatments and foot disease remedies, were "disgusting."
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Only $190 million worth of tampons were sold in China in 2013, according to Mintel, a London-based market research company. While that was up 8.7% compared with a year earlier, those sales equaled just 2.5% of the $7.6-billion sanitary pad market.

Yuan Rong, product manager of Ladycare, China's fifth-largest sanitary pad maker, said the tampon market was still immature. "We've been doing research on tampons since a decade ago, but China's tampon market is not big enough for us to produce any," she said.

Johnson & Johnson's O.B. tampons appeared on shelves in China in 1993 and are still the only brand sold in stores. They are generally stocked only in higher-end shops, such as personal health and beauty retailers Mannings, or foreign megamarkets like Wal-Mart.

Liu Li, a Mannings store clerk in Beijing, said she's seen an uptick in interest. A year ago, she was selling about six boxes of tampons a month. Now it's about six boxes per week.

According to Lai, most of his tampon customers are young white-collar workers in big cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, including many women who have returned to China after living overseas for some time. Chinese girls, he said, are often told by their mothers, "Use tampons after you get married."

Li Yinhe, often described as China's first sexologist, said despite increasingly liberal attitudes toward sex, the country still has a "virginity fetish." There are many clinics offering hymen repair surgery so that sexually active women can present themselves to their fiances as virgins, noted Li Sipan, founder of Women Awakening Network, a feminist organization in Guangzhou.

But Li, the sexologist, said attitudes and customs are changing. Before 1989, only 15% of Chinese had had sex before marriage, but by 2013, that number had risen to 71%, she noted.

For some Chinese feminists, tampons are a weapon for them to assert themselves and refute myths about virginity. "I use whatever I want during menstruation. I don't care if men think my hymen is intact or not," said Wu Dengmin, a 20-year-old junior at Anhui Normal University. "I don't care how my behavior will be measured by those conservative women either."

Wu was born and bred in Anhui province, and grew up surrounded by messages about sexual purity. Among the province's most famous tourist sites are female chastity memorial arches built by local governments between the 14th and 20th centuries to honor widows who never remarried, and to this day are seen as totems to promote the idea that women should only have sex with one man in their lifetime.

Wu said her high school biology textbook contained pictures of only male genitals, and she taught herself to use tampons at 16 by studying pictures online. She never told her mother.

"My mom would think I'm not a good girl any longer," she said.

Safety concerns about Chinese-made sanitary pads are driving some Chinese women to tampons. Two years ago, reports surfaced that some Chinese-made pads might contain fluorescer - a cancer-causing agent.

After that, He Yuelin, 32, a human resource manager for an airlines company in Shanghai, said she began to buy U.S.-made pads via Taobao.

Sensing that China might be on the cusp of embracing tampons, French businessman Jeremy Rigaud launched a tampon brand called Wishu in Shanghai in 2012. Wishu buys tampons from manufacturers in France and Italy, labels them with Wishu's logo and sells them in China, through online platforms such as JD.com.

Last year, Wishu's revenue reached about $770,000, Riguad said. "I see many potentials in China's tampon market," he said, adding that he's now working on distributing Wishu tampons via supermarkets in China's big cities.

In the U.S., tampons are increasingly regarded as old-fashioned, with women now being offered new products such as menstrual cups and period panties. But Lai sees little chance of such products leapfrogging tampons into the Chinese market.

Last year, when Lai and his sales team had a meeting to discuss importing menstrual cups, all 30 of his staff members voted against the idea.

"Tampons are not fully accepted by Chinese customers now," he said. "It's too hasty to try a newer product."
Yang is a special correspondent. ALSO In China, the state decides who can come back from the dead Zuckerberg braves Beijing smog for a jog as his China charm offensive continues How does China mark Women's Day? Hold the feminism, bring on the fashion show

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China made 85 billion sanitary pads last year, and not one tampon. Here's why

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Simon Lai has no personal need for tampons. But this year, the resident of southern China's Guangdong province expects to buy more than half a million dollars worth of the feminine hygiene products in Los Angeles, ship them across the Pacific, and sell them for a good profit.

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Nike is an icon when it comes to sportswear, and it comes back to bite with the Nike Leak Protection: Period the company is making huge strides in promoting inclusivity and diversity in sports by providing a new solution to a long-standing problem for many female athletes.

Periods are known to be a barrier to sports and movement for women, and this is where Nike Leak Protection: Period comes in. It's an ultrathin, absorbent liner that helps protect against period leaks, giving athletes the extra comfort and confidence they need to continue doing what they enjoy.

The proprietary material technology used in the product has gone through hefty validation and wear testing, creating a new Nike-innovation-backed solution to provide added protection. The product is designed to be worn with a tampon, pad, or cup and comes in the Nike One Short silhouette - which has a supportive 7-inch inseam and invisible built-in brief. For maximum attention to detail, Nike designers created and tested over 30 prototypes to find the perfect fit for movement and comfort.

"Fear of bleed-through is real - and not just through the teen years, but through the entire journey of menstruation," says Lisa Gibson, Senior Project Manager, and Nike Apparel Innovation, who plays a major part in the development of this offering. "Nike Leak Protection: Period is for people with periods across all life stages, designed to give them an added layer of confidence so they can feel secure during all forms of sport and movement. It's an innovation that we believe will change people's lives."

Nike Leak Protection: Period is not just limited to the Nike One Short silhouette. For Nike's elite women footballers, the company is offering the product in their base layer, the Nike Pro Short, for the biggest sporting event of the year. The innovation will be offered in players' base layer, the Nike Pro Short, for extra protection when they need it.

The Nike Leak Protection: Period is an innovation that is set to change the game, and it's now available for purchase on nike.com and select specialty stores. Get yours today and take the first step towards a more inclusive sporting experience.

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Nike Unveils The One Leak Protection Period

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Nike is an icon when it comes to sportswear, and it comes back to bite with the Nike Leak Protection: Period the company is making huge strides in promoting inclusivity and diversity in sports by providing a new solution to a long-standing problem for many female athletes.

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Periods can be a barrier to sport and movement for teens and adults — physically, mentally and emotionally. Knowing this, Nike created Leak Protection: Period, an ultrathin, absorbent liner that helps protect against period leaks to provide extra comfort and confidence.

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Modibodi’s reusable leak-proof apparel provides a sustainable solution to manage life’s leaks. Designed to completely replace disposable pads, liners and tampons.

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How it works

Modibodi was created so that every body can go with a different flow. If it's your first time using our products, you might have some questions about how it works (hint: it's not magic, but it's close!).

Read more

Modibodi has given me the gift of a good nights sleep! I sleep easy knowing that my bedsheets will survive the night too!

My period pants have liberated me. It is so nice to feel free and comfortable during my period. They are so comfy that I sometimes want to wear them on non period days!

Like a lot of women of a certain age, I can experience small bladder leakage. Thanks to Modibodi, I can live the active lifestyle I enjoy without the embarrassment.

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The Original Period & Leak Proof Underwear | Modibodi UK

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You are £0.00 GBP away from free shipping! You've got free shipping! Your order will be sent when pre-order items arrive. Your browser does not support HTML video. Modibodi was created so that every body can go with a different flow.

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The campaign on their website is a competition for Age12-18 to design, draw, make or create what 'period power' means to YOU

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Customers can choose different types of period underwear based on their blood leaking amount

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FEATURED IN

"We found you could trust these period pants. They helped testers avoid leakages and all said they were comfortable to wear at night."

"I'm a huge convert. Yes, these period pants are leakproof, but also so comfy, and dare I say - a bit sexy."

"They're SO damn comfy. A dream to wear and leaving you leak-free for 10 hours, they're stretchy, lightweight and quick-drying."

Our period pants are designed to keep you feeling comfortable all day long. Made from high quality, natural materials chosen for breathability, functionality and feel. Because, comfort matters.

Always, good for you and our planet.

Our reusable and washable period pants and leak-free underwear completely replace pads and tampons, reducing your carbon footprint and saving you money.

Together, with our customers, we've already saved over 40 million disposables from going to landfill. Are you ready to join the revolution?

It. Really. Works.

Our leakproof underwear features built-in tech, that completely replaces single-use disposables, so you can do you, worry-free.

how it works

For. Every. Body.

From period pants to incontinence underwear, we find smart solutions for every challenge. Elevate the everyday by finding a product perfect for you.

shop now

Are you tired of leaks and stains?

We designed our period pants and leakproof underwear to keep you protected from any leak life throws at you.

From periods to bladder leaks - our leak proof, and period underwear replace disposables, keeping you covered when you need it most.

shop period pants

How do fluxies period pants work?

Our washable period pants absorb up to 5 tampons' worth, yet they look and feel like regular underwear.

Our reliable built-in tech is moisture wicking, absorbent, and leak-proof, keeping you dry all day long. From High Waist to Bikini, you can find a style to suit you. Wear, wash, reuse.

how it works

We let our reviews speak for themselves →

4.98 average
1,003 reviews

Period pants are designed to absorb menstrual blood and can completely replace disposable products like pads, tampons, and menstrual cups. They're washable so you can reuse them every month and the built-in layers keep you dry and leak-free. Learn more about how period pants work here.

Washing your period pants is easy, and can be done in three simple steps.

1. Rinse them in cold water to wash out the blood

2. Toss your period underwear into the washing machine at 30 degrees (or less) with a gentle detergent.

3. Leave them to air-dry or hang on a radiator

No! There's no need to worry - period pants don't smell any different from your regular pants. Our reliable built-in gusset quickly absorbs moisture and locks it in, stopping any smell from building up.

To get the best period pants for you, choose an absorbency level that suits your flow. Our period underwear ranges from light flow to super heavy flow, and can be worn for up to 12 hours - so you can wear them all day or all night - completely leak free!

Thinking of switching to period underwear? There are loads of reasons why you should, including:

1. They're better for the planet

2. They're easy to use

3. They're reusable

4. They're more affordable

5. They're more comfortable

Our super absorbency Sleep Shorts bring maximum protection so you can wave goodbye to stained sheets and midnight leaks. Zzz.

shop sleep short

100% leak-free + 0% VPL = light and airy Seamless period and leakproof underwear that keeps you fresh, dry, and comfy all day long.

shop seamless

Meet the Classics - our most comfy period underwear collection, made from beech trees. Available in 3 absorbencies, to keep you covered.

classic period pants

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Period Pants and Leakproof Period Underwear | fluxies

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FEATURED IN "We found you could trust these period pants. They helped testers avoid leakages and all said they were comfortable to wear at night." "I'm a huge convert. Yes, these period pants are leakproof, but also so comfy, and dare I say - a bit sexy." "They're SO damn comfy.

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Hey Girls x Scotland Government: Period finder app to reduce period poverty

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Hey Girls x Scotland Government: Period finder app to reduce period poverty

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The free app allows people to find period products on the move or products closest to home. Users can even search for plastic-free products within the app.

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about

Social media is full of incorrect information, and it can be hard to know what is true. Flow hopes to educate their followers about periods and the human body in a fun and easy way. They want to stand out and break all taboos and social norms surrounding menstruation.

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PERIOD. is an organization working to end period poverty, eliminate taboo surrounding periods, and end the tax on menstrual products. Their goal is to provide safe and sanitary products for all people who menstruate, especially those who cannot afford them, and they do so through their chapters in communities and schools.

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PERIOD. is an organization working to end period poverty, eliminate taboo surrounding periods, and end the tax on menstrual products. Their goal is to provide safe and sanitary products for all people who menstruate, especially those who cannot afford them, and they do so through their chapters in communities and schools.

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We've said it before, and we'll say it again, period branding is long overdue an overhaul. Halia is the latest brand subverting harmful tropes pushed by the period industry - namely that they're shameful and that only women have them - with a new identity from California-based designer Katrina Romulo helping to shift the narrative.

Halia is a Philippines-based brand offering plastic and toxin-free period pads made of organic bamboo and corn fibres. Tasked with visualising the brand's mission to redefine the period experience as one that is "enjoyable and free from environmental guilt", Katrina went bold for the identity. "I wanted to design something loud because periods have long been a stigmatised experience that we don't talk about," the designer tells It's Nice That. The branding includes an identity, packaging and a new website from Odin & Grotesk and Yello Studio.

Opting for saturated pinks, greens, and purples, from pastel to neon to dark, Katrina used playful colour pairings on the packaging. Elsewhere, the designer incorporated a thick serif and a grotesque font for bold headers and catchy taglines. Illustrations showing people in dynamic positions feature throughout the branding, "to keep with the energetic and upbeat mood".

Katrina adds: "One of my favourite elements is the "H" brandmark. It is a freeform H with lots of curves created by drawing two pads and connecting them. The two connected pads represent the two types of pads that Halia currently offers - the Regular and Super. The wordmark has rounded letters (we really love the gentle sloping of the a's) that speak to the brand's friendly and approachable demeanour."

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Can we ditch discrete period branding? Halia says yes with "loud" identity

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Designer Katrina Romulo goes bold for period brand Halia, sidestepping the "secretive aspect" of menstruation products.

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This project was also selected for Cag Awards 2019 :)

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Cheerful
Supportive
Sustainable
Gentle
Comfortable
Confident

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Aerial Period Underwear - Chic, Fresh & Serene Branding

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A period underwear brand that believes in both comfort and elegance. Aerial creates visibility for women's needs, promotes practicing self-care and empowers women to feel confident and free - no matter what day of the month.The identity balances a chic,...

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Making Periods Cheerful

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A period underwear brand that believes in both comfort and elegance. Peachy creates visibility for women’s needs, promotes practicing self-care and empowers women to feel confident and free- no matter what day and month.

Menstrual poverty has long been a neglected topic in society, and Peachy is committed to promoting and addressing this female challenge through its own power. We help young girls who are facing menstrual poverty by buying one and giving one and using our products to help them feel more comfortable and confident when they first start menstruating.

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We love the magic of new beginnings. Making impact-based visions a reality. Branding + Social Media + Website Design + Email Marketing + Creative Direction + Content Creation. DEVA COFFEE Damn good coffeeCategory: Branding / Packaging Coming soon 2022 We love creating personal brands and telling someone's story, purpose and community vision through visuals, shapes & colors.

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At first, I wanted to make knowledge education leaflets. Later, I came up with the idea of making the leaflet more interesting and interactive through diary, so I added calendar elements. Consumers can record their periods and write down their mood at the same time. At the top of the calendar is education for girls who have just started menstruating, cultivating their habit of recording their period. To help them become more aware of their bodies.

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Jenna, 27, Marketing Manager
Jenna is a driven professional who values both comfort and style. She works long hours and often has to attend networking events and client meetings. As a modern woman, she understands the importance of practicing self-care and wants to feel confident and free, no matter what day of the month it is. Jenna is concerned about social issues, particularly those affecting women, and would like to support brands that address them. She appreciates Peachy's commitment to menstrual poverty and feels good about buying from a company that makes a difference in the lives of young girls.

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: Emma, 15, High School Student
Emma is a teenager who has just started menstruating. She is still getting used to the experience and feels self-conscious about it. Emma comes from a low-income family and cannot afford expensive menstrual products. She often skips school during her period, as she does not feel comfortable and secure. Emma is happy to learn about Peachy and their buy one, give one program, which helps girls like her. She likes the comfort and elegance of Peachy's products and feels more confident and empowered when wearing them. Emma appreciates Peachy's mission to promote visibility for women's needs and wants to support the brand.