Pakistan students raise funds for period products after floods force women to use leaves

Students Bushra Mahnoor and Anum Khalid tackle taboo topic to help those affected by floods in desperate need of sanitary products

‘There are women in relief camps who are left to bleed in their clothes’, but some say period hygiene items are a ‘luxury’ and ‘unnecessary’

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Student Bushra Mahnoor packs supplies for menstruating women and girls caught up in Pakistan’s floods. Menstruation is a taboo topic in the country. Photo: Mahwari Justice

Published: 4:00pm, 1 Oct 2022Updated: 11:58pm, 1 May 2023

As massive floods swept through Pakistan, submerging large swathes of the country underwater, university students Bushra Mahnoor and Anum Khalid learned that some women in Balochistan province’s relief camps were resorting to leaves and used rags to manage their periods.

Despite never meeting in person, the pair launched their Mahwari Justice campaign on Twitter in July to raise funds for menstrual hygiene supplies, which researchers say are often overlooked in emergency responses, with efforts to tackle the taboo topic sometimes spurring a public backlash.

The young women have already raised around US$40,000 and donated 12,000 period kits, each containing either sanitary pads or reusable cloths, along with soap and underwear.

“There are women in relief camps who are left to bleed in their clothes,” said Mahnoor, 22, a Lahore-based psychology student. She recalled visiting a camp in the village of Khairabad, about 70km (44 miles) from the city of Peshawar, following floods in 2010. There she saw her mother drape a shawl around a girl with blood stains on her clothes. The moment left a lasting impression on her.

Women in a flood relief camp in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. Photo: Mahwari Justice

“When I learned about the floods this year, the image of that girl came to my mind. I knew that once again, there will be lots of girls who will be menstruating and there was no plan to help them,” she said.

Pakistan students raise funds for period products after floods force women to use leaves

Students Bushra Mahnoor and Anum Khalid tackle taboo topic to help those affected by floods in desperate need of sanitary products ‘There are women in relief camps who are left to bleed in their clothes’, but some say period hygiene items are a ‘luxury’ and ‘unnecessary’

Students Bushra Mahnoor and Anum Khalid tackle taboo topic to help those affected by floods in desperate need of sanitary products

‘There are women in relief camps who are left to bleed in their clothes’, but some say period hygiene items are a ‘luxury’ and ‘unnecessary’