Full Stop Nivedita Nimmagadda

During P.E., my friend whispered to me that “Aunt Flo was visiting” and she didn’t have a pad. I took a pad from my backpack and handed it over to her, only for her to squeal “Don’t take it out so obviously!” Followed by, “I don’t have a pocket, how am I supposed to carry this to the bathroom without people seeing.”

While we would like to believe that the stigma behind menstruation is minimized, it is still as rampant as ever. If upper-middle class women are still affected by this predicament, I could only imagine how it plagues a more traditional society. It was brought to my attention that not only does the stigma still exist, but also the poverty-stricken girls who don’t have access to pads are forced to use dirty rags which have damaging effects on their health.

Girls should help other girls, so my friends and I started ‘Full Stop’. ‘Full Stop’ is more than just a clever play on words; it’s a student-owned organization that educates and provides pads to the underprivileged girls of three schools.

Each month we provide every girl 16 environment friendly sanitary napkins, 2 pairs of underwear, and a hot pack to cope with stomach cramps. We also educate them about taking the appropriate hygienic precautions during their...