Promoting period positivity with Fempowered, Zoe Sugg, Maisie Williams and Adwoa Aboah
If you’ve ever snuck a tampon or pad up your sleeve on the way to the bathroom, you’ll know that despite being a perfectly natural experience, periods can still be a source of embarrassment.
Imagine if on top of that embarrassment, you also didn’t have a clean and secure toilet to manage your period in.
Right now, 1 in 4 people around the world must go through their period with exactly that – no decent toilet. Not having a clean, safe space to manage menstruation puts girls and women at huge risk.
In many of the countries we work in there are also lots of taboos that surround periods. For example, 70% of girls in Afghanistan don't bathe when menstruating, for fear of becoming infertile.
The combination of no decent toilets and the shame they feel from their periods, means many girls drop out of school when they reach menstruation. Ultimately, girls have fewer opportunities and are disadvantaged at every stage of their lives.
We know that the facilities and support available to those menstruating aren’t likely to improve without having more open, honest conversations about periods – breaking down those taboos and helping people around the world understand that they’re perfectly normal.
That’s why we created Fempowered – a subscription service for period products that not only supports our work, but encourages us all to be more open about periods.
And now we’re excited to announce that Fempowered has collaborated with three inspiring women: entrepreneur-vlogger-writer Zoe Sugg, actress Maisie Williams and activist Adwoa Aboah on a range of taboo-crushing toiletry bags.
They're a part of Fempowered’s mission to tackle menstruation stigmas through their bold designs, featuring slogans like “Own your flow" and “It’s only blood”. After all, fewer than two in five people in the UK feel comfortable talking about periods, according to our research.
Speaking about the collaboration, Zoe said, “I’m so proud to be working with Fempowered to bring more attention to the many girls around the world who have to miss school due to a lack of decent toilets or who drop out entirely. A period should never be something that holds anyone back and I hope the design we’ve worked on with WaterAid helps women own their flow with dignity.”
Profits from the bags go to WaterAid, supporting projects that fight period discrimination and help people across the globe practically manage their periods. From educating communities and schools where periods can still be seen as a curse or unclean, to building facilities that provide a safe, hygienic and dignified environment for those on their period – you really will be changing lives when you buy a Fempowered toiletry bag.
Shop the Fempowered toiletry bags