Women React to Secrets About Strangers' Periods

"I would skip school for 7 days
because my Mom couldn't afford to

buy sanitary pads."

"As a result, I would cut pieces of
my t-shirt to use as a pad."

"It made me feel worthless."

♪ (piano music) ♪

1 in 5 girls in the US has
missed school because of a lack of

access to period products.

In partnership with Always and Walgreens,

We asked women to anonymously
share their secrets related to

period poverty and mensuration.

Then had other women read them aloud
in order to spread awareness.

Always and Walgreens are teaming up
to help end period poverty.

Stick around after the episode
to learn how you can help.

"I didn't know much about menstruation,
and cried the first time I got my period

because I thought I had changed forever."

"I was really ashamed. I wish I knew more
before that moment."

"Growing up, I was never able to
talk to my mom about periods,

nor ask her for supplies,
so I had to ration them out in school."

"This led me to having 1 or 2 pads for
the entire 7 days I was on my period,

and often bleeding through
my uniform."

- Yes, I also relate to this
quite a lot as well.

In high school, it was actually when I had
to really start becoming independent.

So I pretty much had to figure out how to
ration all of my things.

This included textbooks, and-
the most essential part, pads.

You know, the pads that the school
was providing weren't very protective,

so I'd always have to ask, for like,
at least more than 3 (pads).

It hurts my heart to think that there are
women out there who have to struggle to

get that kind of quality protection,
you know, for their periods.

"I would skip school for 7 days

because my mom couldn't afford to
buy sanitary pads."

"As a result, I would cut pieces of
my t-shirt to use as a pad."

"It made me feel worthless."

-I would sometimes skip school as well,
when I didn't have sanitary pads

or like a tampon, or anything.

Money is tight so, can I afford to go
get tampons, or do I ask my co-workers,

or just suck it up till I get home and
use toilet paper as much as I could.

"I didn't have anyone to help or tell me
about periods."

"I bought my first sanitary products
by myself,

and have been doing this ever since."

" I never realised how expensive this
actually adds up to be,

especially buying for a younger sister."

"This meant that when I had to buy
new products, we wouldn't be

eating for a few days."
-Wow.

-That's intense.

I've been a broke college student,
you know,

I have 5 dollars in my bank account,
and then your period happens

and then what?

- When I was living in a homeless shelter,
women could only get 7 pads or 7 tampons,

for two weeks.

I just thought that was completely unfair,

so I started to go to every woman and
tell them they could come to me

because I would take supplies and put it
in my room for them.

"Every time I'm on my period,
I stain at least one thing

on most of the clothes I wear."

"My periods are very heavy, and I
have to change them every hour and a half,

but I'm always nervous to
ask my teachers."

"This experience makes me feel like crap.
I hate it so much."

-Oh goodness!

-I used to be immobile because of
my period.

I would have to miss school some days
because I would just be so sick from it.

Yeah, the stain thing too,
we all do it.

But I understand that that's really hard,
and that's really embarrassing.

"I was in 7th grade on a field trip when
my period started."

"I didn't have any products and
bled thorugh my clothes."

"A group of guys joked about it,
causing everyone to laugh and point."

"I was so fed up with what happened
that I had a mental breakdown in class."

"Growing up in a Asian household, periods
were a taboo to talk about, and

unconsciously made me hate myself more."

"And I'm not allowed to enter the kitchen
or pray during the menstrual cycle."

"It made me feel very ashamed."

-So growing up Arab-Muslim, I can also
relate, because we have

the cultural and the religious element.

Women on their periods were seen as

something dirty, that's like
the perfect description.

- And I just always believed that
you cannot talk about your period

in front of men.

As if they don't know what it is.

- But over time, I learned that that's
just the natural thing that

women go through, and the more
I studied my culture and my faith,

the more I realised a lot of that was just
male interpretation.

- In school, it was very different
because we were all girls.

It was more like a celebration, I remember

I was the last one to have my period,
and I was waiting for it.

But anytime outside school, outside the
comfort zone,

I'd be so precautions if I'm staining
or not, or feel a little bit

gross about it.

- I think it's kind of crazy to be ashamed
of something you have no control over,

even though I myself, was ashamed of it
for 15 years (laughs quietly)

- I remember like, after I left the
homeless shelter and I found my own place,

I just felt like I was in [unintelligible]
the products that I needed.

- This is not something that women
should be penalised for.

We were born this way.

-Specially girls who don't have access to
menstrual hygiene products,

that they're forced to use toilet paper,
or even socks or a piece of

their clothing, it's so unhealthy.

-I mean, everyone deserves to have
a high quality life.

- Our bodies are all unique and different
to each of us, and

how they respond to us is
a beautiful thing.

- I'm not gonna hide this this time,
let's go to a male checkout (laughs)

You don't have to hide what is normal.

(narrator) These secrets represent only a
small fraction of

the millions of women who lack access to
period products.

P&G and Walgreens are working together to

help address the issue, and have already
donated six million period products

to girls in need.

But there's still so much more to do.

Between July 26th and August 29th 2020,

for every pack of Always or Tampax
you purchase at Walgreens,

Always will donate an additional
period product.

Thanks for watching!

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