All language subtitles for Pandoras.Box.2019.WEBRip.x264-ION10_English

- When I started my period,
I was very young,

and nobody had told me
about it.

I didn't know it was something
that was going to happen.

I just found my -- every time
I would go to pee,

I was peeing blood.

I thought maybe something
had bitten me,

or something had entered me
and was eating me up,

that is why the blood
was coming.

I really didn't have
any answers.

- There are communities out there
that believe that a woman

should go
and sit somewhere

and let her period
soak into the soil.

- A young woman died
in Nepal after being banished

to an outdoor shed
while she was on her period.

- A 13-year-old schoolgirl
commits suicide

after she was shamed by her
teacher for period stains.

- You'll be really shocked.

In India, in rural areas,

most of the girls end up
being at home.

They miss their schools.

- We're really putting
the girl child in a position

where she's already apologetic
for being a woman.

- It's quite shocking, you know,
the sixth richest country

in the world,
and we've got children

who can't go to school because
they're on their periods.

- Women have limited resources
if they're struggling.

And period poverty
is real.

- It makes
me feel vulnerable.

It's a draining thing,
to go back to that place

of not having something that,
my whole life,

I've considered, like,
a basic necessity.

- There's no question in my mind
that menstruation belongs

in the designation of what
we call "basic human rights."

- Human rights activists
have recently run alarm bells

over prisons withholding
menstrual pads and tampons.

- There was times that,
when I worked at a certain place

in the prison, I would take
a roll of toilet tissue

back with me, so that
I would have extra toilet tissue

in case I had to make a pad.

- If this was an issue
that affected males,

it would have been dealt with
years ago.

- It's a tax
that many consider sexist

because men
don't have to pay it.

- I suspect it's because men
were making the laws.

- It's as if Pandora's box
is opening,

exposing all the issues and
inequities around menstruation

around the world.

- Menstrual health and the fight
for menstrual equity

has definitely been
at the forefront

of a modern
feminist agenda.

- In our current
political environment,

where women are being demonized,
what sets men and women apart?

Menstruation.

So, it's an easy target.

- We have the president
of the United States

deriding menstruation as he did
on the campaign trail.

- That actually reminds me that
our bodies are the thing

that are hated and feared
the most.

And that is really,
you know,

where we see, I think,
women claiming, reclaiming,

recognizing the power
of our voices

and our stories
right now.

And menstruation
is part of it.

How could menstruation
not be a part of it?

- I really loved school.

I wanted to be a doctor.

I was so passionate.

And every time
I would go home,

I would brag about how I wanted
to be a doctor.

I didn't have anything
to manage my period,

and I realized that,
whenever I had my period,

I was having, like,
flies even following me

because of the smell.

And I have messed up
my clothes.

And at school, I was really
not comfortable.

I look onto it now
and was like,

"Why wouldn't even
the female teachers

sit down with me, and tell me
this is what is happening?"

Maybe they looked at me,

and they thought I was too young
to understand.

It started with
this shopkeeper.

So, he is the one who introduced
me to the pad

and told me how to use it.

And he even gave me
two panties.

And then, one day,
he wanted something in return.

What else was there
to exchange?

It was sex.

- Period poverty isn't, by any
stretch of the imagination,

something that only happens
in developing nations.

It's not something
that only happens

when you live
on the street.

Because there are
so many people, now,

who are living in really
quite abject poverty,

but are just managing
to hide it.

In 2011, my family
had a lot of

really massive
financial difficulties.

My partner at the time
lost his job.

We had two
very young children.

There were long periods
of that year where we just

didn't have any money.

And, like, people helped
with a lot of things.

People bought us
grocery shops.

People bought my daughter
a coat,

because I was walking her
to school in the winter

in just a hoodie.

I never asked anybody
about menstrual products.

- Anita once told me Olivia
was going through puberty,

or something.

- She is.
And so are you.

Rather dramatic,
but it's the same thing.

You know, like, her body's
changing a little bit.

- Mama, what's puberty?

- It's when your body changes
from a child's body

into a grown-up's body.

Also, then,
your periods start.

- Mm.

- To go to someone
and say,

"Right now,
I have a sanitary towelette

that I have had in
for the good part of 24,

sometimes 48 hours,

and it is physically
falling off my underwear

and it's really gross

and I need someone
to buy me some

so I can change it,"
that's so embarrassing.

We expect menstruators
to have these things,

but there's never any real
sort of consideration

of where they
come from.

It's just this idea of,
it will just appear.

Like, you've got to have it.
You've got to have it.

And they're not something
anyone should ever

not be able to afford.

- My name is Vanee Sykes.

I remember it so well.

I had just told my husband
and my children, "Bye,"

and I was walking with
a female officer.

And it was at that time she told
me that I had to take off

my street clothes,
which I did.

But I left
my undergarments on

because I had
my menstrual cycle.

And you know, she just looked
at me and said, "Everything."

And I began to explain to her
that I had my menstrual cycle.

And she said, "And?"

I had to take off my underwear,
and I had to cough and squat.

Blood was on the floor.

And I didn't want to cry,
because I didn't want to, like,

give her that,
because I think that's

what she was
expecting me to do.

So, I just sucked it in

and just, you know,
did what I was told.

Being inside, what I realized is
that they want to remind you

that you are incarcerated,
and they want to remind you

that there are certain liberties
that are taken away for you.

And I think, for a woman
being in prison,

that's one of those
reminders.

You've been stripped away
from everything, you know?

And my thing is that I was a
woman before I came to prison,

and, you know,
can we just keep that intact?

You know, can that part of our
lives still remain?

That should be
without a question.

- Periods shouldn't be a barrier
for anyone anywhere.

And that is really at the heart
of menstrual equity.

If somebody is denied,
or unable to manage menstruation

in the most healthy
and dignified way,

whether it's because
they can't afford the products,

whether it's because
they can't access them,

that poses a barrier.

I came to this issue
only a couple years ago.

I sort of stumbled into it
in January of 2015.

I saw this announcement
in my Facebook feed

that two kids in my community
were collecting tampons and pads

for our food pantry.

It was kind of just like
a light-bulb moment for me.

I don't know
how else to say it.

I was just so shocked.

I couldn't believe that
I had never considered

that it might be an issue
or a problem.

From that moment,
I started reading

and researching and really
trying to wrap my head around

how it could be
that menstruation is something

that's so natural,
yet so stigmatized,

and then, the challenges
that could produce.

I think that
menstrual activism

is surely part of
a feminist movement.

It's surely part
of gender equity

and gender equality
movement.

When you have something like
Me Too emerge,

and half
the population's saying,

"Oh, my gosh. I had no idea
this was happening,"

and the other half saying,

"I guess you haven't
been listening,"

menstruation falls exactly in
that same argument.

All of these problems,
all of these issues,

all of these stories,
have always existed.

It's just that they've never
been elevated or acknowledged

or, you know, welcomed.

- Hey, Toronto.
Good evening.

How are y'all doing?
How are y'all doing?

Let's get this evening started
in the museum.

What a pleasure.

Come in closer.

[Rapping]♪ I've been thinking
about how I'm supposed to live ♪

♪ In a world
where this president ♪

♪ Has zero fucks to give ♪

♪ I've been thinking about
how I'm supposed to stay woke ♪

♪ When the media every day
is a damned joke ♪

My name is Kiran

I perform as
Madame Gandhi.

I say often that I am a drummer
whose mission is to elevate

and celebrate
the female voice.

- A musician decided
to raise awareness about women

with no access to feminine
products by running a marathon.

- M.I.A. drummer
and feminist Kiran Gandhi

ran the London marathon, and she
decided to prove a point.

- I remember, it was the morning
of the marathon,

and I was approaching
the start line.

And I sort knew that I
would be getting my cycle

around that time,
and I was just sort of hoping,

like any marathoner would,
that it would be later

in the week, that I wouldn't be
on day one of my period.

But unfortunately,

as I approached
the start line,

I realized that
I'm definitely about to bleed.

And like any of us who've been
caught unprepared on our cycle,

I started evaluating
my options.

So, I decided to run the race
bleeding freely.

And I knew that this act
and this choice was radical,

even though
it shouldn't be.

It shouldn't be radical that we,
as women, and people who bleed,

prioritize our own comfort
at the expense of upholding

a social stigma.

And the more I ran,
the more I realized that,

while I had a choice, and I was
privileged in that choice

in that moment, millions of
women and girls around the world

and people who bleed
do not have that same choice.

They don't have access to the
ability to even make decisions

about their own comfort
on their cycle.

- 26-year-old Kiran Gandhi
ran the London Marathon

without wearing
said feminine product.

So, we've blurred out
this picture.

Response has been mixed.

Some were in support
of her actions.

Some were not, using the hashtag
#attentionseeking.

- When the story went viral,
I really wasn't...

I wasn't pressed
by all the negativity.

I was almost shocked.
I was like, "Really?"

Like, "Let me see you
run a marathon bleeding."

Like, that shit
is fucking dope.

Like, bleeding from anywhere
is a punk-rock move in running,

like, 26 miles,
you know?

- Ms. Jensen, is it true
that people can tell

when you're menstruating?

- No. It isn't.

But you should be more careful
than ever

about personal cleanliness,

and change your underwear
more often.

And be sure and use
a deodorant.

And pay more attention
to your hair and your nails,

and plan to wear
your prettiest dress.

- The thing about menstruation
is that it has always been

a shameful,
dirty secret.

People didn't
write about it.

People didn't
talk about it.

And until products came onto
the market in the, like,

early 1920s, like,
late teens,

there was nothing about it
out there at all.

- There's a language that goes
along with menstruation.

If you say, "femme care aisle,"
"sanitary protection,"

"feminine napkins,"
"feminine hygiene."

- Today's women want a
comfortable feminine protection.

- Gentle wings called
"panty protectors."

- Stay Free has a remarkable
new system of protection

called "four-wall protection."

- And what does
any of that mean?

They're just made-up words
to describe a bodily function

without ever having
to actually talk about it.

"Make this your summer
to remember."

And it's girls playing
tug-of-war in the surf,

covered in water,
in white and blue bathing suits.

And that's a Tampax ad.

I mean, what does that
have to do with periods?

It has nothing to do
with periods.

- It took until the mid-1980s
for the word "period"

to actually be spoken
on television.

That was the actress
Courteney Cox

doing an ad for Tampax.

- Remember.
There's a feeling with Tampax.

It can actually change the way
you feel about your period.

- Even today, product
advertisements still really

sort of go to the default
of clean, quiet, invisible.

- I think, in India,
traditionally,

owing to our culture,
and the way we live,

we don't talk about periods
that openly.

So, neither our mothers
have the information,

nor can they pass it on to
their girls, to their daughters.

So, most of the girls
end up being at home.

They miss their schools.

They don't know whom
to ask questions.

So, my name is Sarika.

It happened with me
when I first menstruated.

I had no clue whatsoever.

I was like...

I thought I had cancer,
because I had no clue

from where the blood is coming,
and what the hell is going on.

My mother would not talk to us
about periods.

And if at all, out of curiosity,
I ask her, she would be like,

"You don't have any shame.
You're asking me all this.

You'll figure it out on your own
when you grow."

So, the story started there
and ended there.

- Most of them don't know how
they can have babies.

They don't know what causes
a baby.

You know,
they don't know

they're gonna start
having a period.

Nobody tells them.
It just happens.

And then, they get panicky,
you know?

"What's happening?"
You know, "I'm bleeding."

"Oh, yeah.
Go in the corner.

Go in that room. Don't come out
until I tell you."

You know,
it can be really brutal.

And this could be
the mother,

because that's what
happened to her.

- Whatever questions you have
about periods,

I'm going to answer them.

Just raise your hands.

I started this initiative,
Safe N' Happy Periods,

two years back.

This is basically about creating
information and education

about menstruation.

And it's a small step
we have taken

to create an atmosphere,
to create a platform,

where people can talk about
menstruation freely and openly.

- When the egg travels to this
place, for four to five days,

along with the blood
and soft tissues,

it comes out of our vagina.

That is -- That phenomenon
is known as "periods."

Our focus is to educate them
on every aspect,

right from why they need
to take pride in having periods

together with what benefit,

you know,
periods are giving to girls.

Periods are an indicator
to your health.

If your periods are good,

that's an indicator
of your good health.

You know, all the questions
they have in mind,

as far as periods are concerned,
they can't ask anybody.

We try to answer that.

We tell them
the different products

people are using worldwide,

so that they can make
informed choices.

You know, you can make out
from their body language

the moment they hear all this,
they feel confident that,

"Yeah, it's okay.
It's periods.

It's a part of nature.

It's a part of
our growing up."

- We have about 270 girls today.

The moment we reach there,

you guys are going to
set up everything.

And these are the things
we need to carry --

the menstrual cup,

the biodegradable pads
and panty liners.

- What's this?
- This is a panty liner.

We'll take a few of these,

so that the kids can
have a feel of it.

- We started this initiative
with our own funds.

I don't want to stop this work
because of funds,

but I don't know for how long
we can carry on supporting it

with our own funds, and from the
family and friends.

Having some support
would definitely give momentum

to this work.

Most of the time,
when I go to school,

and I ask girls, what is the
most thing that worries them?

Like, "What do you worry about
in your life?"

They say they don't even worry
about their grades.

They don't worry about food,
because it is normal, sometimes,

to go hungry without food.

But what keeps them
worrying is,

"When is my period
going to start,

and is it going to start
when I'm in school?"

- If we want
gender equality,

we want the women and the men
to be at par, equal.

So, if the girl child
has to miss school

a week every month
because she has her period,

or her menstruation, then,
how do you expect her to compete

and make her platform
when it comes to examinations,

when it comes to sports,
when it comes to arts,

when it comes to feeling
comfortable in her skin?

- There's some misleading wisdom
out there that, you know,

if she bleeds, she can breed,
that it's time for her, now,

to have children.

It happens a lot
in the rural areas.

- Let me tell you, ladies,
you were created special.

So, I want us to recite
that creed together.

"I know I can..."

- I know I can...

-"...be what I want to be."
-...be what I want to be.

-"If I work hard at it..."
- If I work hard at it...

-"...I'll be what I want to be."
- I'll be what I want to be.

- Today, we hosted
the menstrual hygiene day,

and it was
an amazing event.

The girls here really want
to go to school.

They want to get
an education.

When they're asked
who wants to become something

after they are done with school,
all the hands went up.

And at this age,
they're still very ambitious.

They still believe
they can become doctors.

They believe that
they can become engineers.

They believe that
they will become teachers.

So, we think that this issue
of menstrual health

might be one little thing,
but when you think about it,

it could actually change
someone's life for good.

- How would you guys feel
if you couldn't go to school

because of your periods, if you
had to stay home very month?

- I'd feel sad,
because every day,

I like going to school
and learning.

Everyone deserves
the same things.

And I shouldn't be taken away
from something I like

just because I have
my period.

- We know kids are missing
school, and we also know that,

if kids are missing school,
there's probably kids

going to school, but not really
in a state to learn.

That means that
a big chunk of our workforce,

in a certain amount of time,

has missed out on a big chunk
of their education.

My little tiny feminist
collective, Fourth Wave,

we just sort of all had
a conversation about that,

and went, "Okay. Well, what do
we do with this?"

There's a really simple answer
to this,

which is we just provide

menstrual products
for free in school.

So, we started a petition
about that.

This wasn't, you know,
we pull kids in the corner,

"We have to help you
with this."

This is, "All of you should
just have access to this.

And whatever the reason why you
can't access them yourselves,

whether it's because
your parents have got no money,

or if it's because you live with
a single dad,

and you don't feel like
you can talk to him,

whether it's because you're in
a childhood abusive situation,

and nobody is buying you
the things you need."

I believe we got a response
that basically kind of went,

"Hmm, yeah, but we're not
gonna do that."

Which was what
we expected.

But it did add to
or begin a conversation.

There are now some really,
really great people

in the sort of charity sector
kind of plugging away

and plugging the gap,
until we have a government

who are willing to do anything
about it.

- We know that there are students
in Hackney

who are experiencing
period poverty

and other issues
in accessing period products.

We have one of the highest
child poverty rates in London,

at 41%, so we have a huge
problem of poverty

in this borough.

You know,
if you can't afford food,

you can't afford
menstrual products.

We know that it's
a huge issue.

The Red Box Project
is a community project that,

we collect donations of period
products from local communities,

and we pack together boxes,
red boxes.

This is my son's favorite bit
to do about Red Box Project.

He's 4, and he loves sorting
the tampons.

They look fun, right?

The main idea
is that girls can take,

or the students can take,
whatever they need from the box

to get through each
and every period.

We don't want anyone
to be at school

without access
to what they need.

So, we just pop, you know,
10 tampons in a bag

and some towels,
some loose towels.

And then, they can take
what they need from that.

And we deliver them
to local schools

and other educational
settings.

- Thank you.
How you been?

- I don't think that it should
come down to individual schools,

or individual teachers,
or projects such as ours

to make sure that every young
person, every menstruator,

is provided for.

- When I hear the statistic
about girls missing school,

missing college, because they're
on their period,

that just shows how it adds to
gender inequality.

And it's really worrying.

So, this is my office --

or, as I like to call it,
my "tampon palace."

In you come.

It's something that, you know,
I think we should be

talking about more
as a party.

And we can have the policy,
but unless we're making sure

that it's part of
the discussion

when we're talking
about poverty,

when we're talking about
gender equality,

then, we've not gone
far enough.

- If a child misses school,

they miss a whole lot more
than just a class.

It shouldn't be the case
that you have to worry about

something that happens naturally
to you, that you can't stop.

And governments,
and organizations,

and societies should ensure that
that isn't the case.

And that's whether
you go to work, school,

university,
or prison.

- I'm actually calling to talk
to you, Director Bolton,

or anyone who can come to my
courtroom and tell me why

there is a defendant --
a female defendant,

standing in front of me
with no pants on.

And she's been here for,
how many days, ma'am,?

- I got here, like,
three days ago --

two or three days ago.

- She's been in our jail
for three days.

And it purports to me that
the jail has refused to give her

pants and feminine
hygiene products.

- I think it's important
to talk about menstruation

for women in prison because we
are the forgotten population.

I think that, when we talk about
menstruation for women, period,

you know, equity around that,
women who are incarcerated

are often left out
of that conversation.

My name is Topeka K. Sam,

and I am the founder
and executive director

of The Ladies of Hope
Ministries.

I got into this work as a woman
who was incarcerated

in federal prison
for three years.

When you're arrested,
you're arrested with

whatever clothes
that you have on.

And when I went in, I had the
pair of underwear that I had on,

and then, the options that I had
was to go

what we call,
"dumpster diving" --

so, it's a big bin
with used underwear.

And most of the panties in there
were soiled.

So, they called it
"dumpster diving" because women

would go in, and try to find the
panties that were less soiled.

On top of that, pads,
you may be given

the cheapest pads
that they have.

- Initially, it was okay
because I was married,

so my husband was able
to send me commissary.

But during the middle
of my incarceration,

my husband of 25 years
passed away.

So, my children were left
with my family members,

who had to care for my children,
maintain my housing expense.

So, I didn't want to ask them,
you know, for additional,

you know, monies and stuff
because of what

they were already doing.

So, you just have to double up
the pads.

And, you know,
that's what I had to do.

- I was told
in the federal prison

that I had to quantify
my periods.

And what that means is,
I had to take the soiled pads,

put them in a paper bag,
show them to the male officer,

to let him see that I used them,
in order to get five more pads.

And their rationale
was to make sure

that I was actually using
the amount of pads

that I said I was.

- What I noticed in prison,

a lot of women have been hurt
by men -- myself included --

like, violated,
as a young child.

To have to go to a male officer
to ask for pads,

a lot of them
wouldn't do it.

You know,
they didn't want to do it.

- You know, the way that I see
how we are, not only taken --

our liberty is taken away,
for being incarcerated,

but I feel like we're punished
just because we have a period.

- Instrumental support,
emotional support,

a sense of connectedness
and belonging,

and then,
honest feedback.

- I would like to implement that
into our programming.

I think the women
at Hope House,

I think that's something
that's valuable.

- What we wanted to create
a safe, beautiful place

that we or anyone else
would want to live in

that will allow women to have
a starting point, and stability,

and community,
where they can thrive,

and transform
their lives.

We provide menstrual supplies
for women, tampons and pads.

- So, the women, they know
where all the supplies are.

They can just go in the closet,
and take whatever they want.

- Whether it's in prison or not,
you know,

it is a basic
human right.

The fact that even women who are
suffering with homelessness,

and have to go through that
in shelters,

and don't get access
to hygiene pads,

women who are coming home
from prison,

who are in halfway houses,

and these things
aren't given to us,

that they're expecting us
to purchase these items,

and it is a violation
of our human rights.

I mean, this is something
we cannot help.

I mean, nor do we want to,
right?

I mean, let's face it,
none of the guys would be alive

if we didn't have
our cycles.

So, you know,
it's part of who we are,

but it's also, you know,
not only our responsibility

to make sure that we have
the things that we need.

It is everyone's
responsibility,

especially when we are under the
confinement of the government.

- Truly, menstrual equity
requires looking at all the laws

under which we live,
and asking ourselves,

"Well, if we incorporated
something about the fact

that half the people
who live by these laws

have bodies that menstruate,
would the laws look different?"

- Recently, I was shocked
to learn that pads, tampons,

and other menstrual products
are taxed as luxury goods.

I don't know anyone
who has a period

that thinks it's a luxury,
because it's --

- I think that's fair
to say.

Michelle would agree with you
on that.

I suspect it's because men
were making the laws...

- Yeah.
-...when those tax were passed.

- You know, it's kind of
a funny thing.

Women are treated
as a special interest group

when it comes to
policymaking,

and yet, we are half
the population.

We are half the economy.

We're largely
the child-rearing experts,

and force of the population,

but policies that would improve
our lives and impact our lives

are somehow treated as
the exception, not the rule.

- We have a duty in this House
to ensure that we make laws

that are not harmful
toward women.

Too often, our legislation and
policies are all geared towards

dehumanizing and devaluing women

and the role that women play
in society.

- Kenya is split
right in the middle.

We've got a population
where 50% is men, 50% is women.

Now, if we are going to make
decisions, do legislation,

write policy not considering
the women,

it will be like Kenya
playing with half of its team

sitting on the bench.

- I think one of the biggest
challenges is, still,

being taken seriously,
because the vast majority

of governments
are run by men.

Across the country, we have seen
a collective effort to erode

a woman's right to choose,

right to access
reproductive healthcare,

and make decisions
about her own body.

There are still
too many people in power

who have outdated notions
about how women function,

how women's bodies function,
sort of Neanderthal attitudes.

- New healthcare restrictions
that only impact women

hits clinics.
It hits Planned Parenthood.

And critics say it could
endanger women's health,

and limit Constitutionally
protected medical choices.

- Brett Kavanaugh is now
Justice Kavanaugh,

boosting President Trump's
legacy,

and possibly reshaping
the court for decades to come.

- I think what we've all come
to see is that we live

in this dystopia
where our bodies,

and our realities,
and our stories

go completely
unacknowledged.

In fact, it's worse than
being unacknowledged.

The power structures
and the entire infrastructure

of our systems are designed to
not elevate our voices.

So, menstruation
and menstrual access

is all part of
the same moment.

It's all part of the same time,
where we are actually saying

out loud,
"This is our experience.

This is our story.

And we deserve to have the laws
that we live by

recognize our experiences
and our stories."

Hm. Look at that.

This is like, "We're making this
one extra good,

with transparency
and clean products,

so we'll charge you more."

Oh, look, DivaCups.

That's interesting.

Hm.

Not a necessity.

Therefore,
subject to sales tax.

Not exempt
from sales tax.

Across the states,
all kinds of items

have made this
classification.

In Texas, cowboy boots,
exempt from sales tax.

In California, Pop-Tarts,
exempt from sales tax.

Not exempt from sales tax.

- Is your erection
really more than protecting

the sacred messy part
of my womanhood?

Is the bloodstain on my jeans
more embarrassing

than the thinning
of your hair?

- I put up a petition,
a national petition,

calling on all
of the states --

in that time, all 40 of the
states that were not

exempting menstrual products
from sales tax.

And basically, it's just
a campaign that caught fire.

- The push to stop sales tax
on feminine hygiene products.

- Supporters of
the so-called "tampon tax"

say it's unfair
to women.

- Right now, Virginia lawmakers
are pushing to remove the tax

that women pay
on tampons.

- The Florida bill will be
under consideration

during the 2017
legislative session.

- Hand-set with 156
brilliant cut diamonds.

- The issue got a big burst
of attention when the model

and activist Amber Rose
decided to take it on

as something she really wanted
to put her name

and brand behind.

So, I worked with her
to create a PSA,

a really catchy little video
that is on YouTube

and on her Instagram
and on her Twitter.

- Where else
would you keep something

36 states tax
like a luxury?

- And the best line,
of course, in the video is,

"Tell the government
where to stick this tax."

The tampon tax
was a starting place.

It was never intended
to be a finishing place.

It was a way to test
and see if legislators

would be willing to embrace
even talking about periods,

and saying the words "tampons"
and "menstruation"

on the legislative floor.

- Danielle Rowley.

- Thank you, Mister Speaker.

Mister Speaker,
I would like to --

- Julius, it's really good
of the honorable lady

to drop in on us.

I'm sure she's got
a very busy schedule.

But as I am babbling on at her,
she can recover her breath.

- Thank you,
Mister Speaker.

I would like to raise to you
today, and to the House --

and perhaps you'll excuse me
for my lateness --

that today
I'm on my period.

- MP Danielle,
she stood up.

She ran in, actually,
sort of late,

out of breath, for a debate,
and she said,

"I'm really sorry.
I'm on my period."

- I think because, you know,
there was quite a lot

of adrenaline going on for me,
I didn't really notice

when I actually said it,

but people have said
a few people gasped.

- There was a few gasps,
I think, in the chamber --

remember, it's a chamber
that's not used to women

in the first place.

And I felt like putting
my hand up, and saying,

"I'm on my period, too."

- It's cost me this week
already £25.

We know the average cost
of a period in the UK,

over a year,
is £500.

Many women
can't afford this.

What is the minister doing
to address period poverty?

A lot of colleagues,
when I sat down, said,

"Well done, Danielle."

And then, the reaction after
that has been massive,

you know, something that I
couldn't have predicted at all.

- First time, to our knowledge,
that that has been said

in any seat of government
anywhere in the world.

- It shouldn't be
worldwide news

that a woman has said
she's on her period.

So, although it's had
a really positive reaction,

the fact it's had
such a big reaction

just shows how behind
we are.

- There are so many reasons
why menstrual equity

hasn't been acknowledged,
let alone a priority.

A huge part of it
is the stigmatization

of menstruation worldwide.

If there is something that is,
you know, verboten,

that we're not supposed
to be talking about,

or is laden with all kinds
of superstition and stories

that create an environment
of shame,

that, in and of itself,
is gonna be an enormous barrier

to even addressing
the problem.

- Thousands of years ago,
Hippocrates and Ancient Rome

and Ancient Greece
had very strong feelings

about menstruation --
mostly, that it was evil,

that it was a force
of bad tidings,

that menstruation could
sink ships, destroy crops.

There was all this lore
about what the power of periods

could do,
and it was all negative.

through to the Bible
and the Quran and Hindu texts,

where women --
menstruating women

were seen as dangerous,
and unclean,

and needed to be avoided
at all costs.

- You know, you will hear people
talking about the reason why

a woman should not be
a religious leader

is because she cannot stand
on the altar

of those days of the month,
or she cannot be a leader

because why would you be led
by a woman who bleeds?

- There is all sorts of beliefs
around how menstrual blood

is powerful and scary
and threatening

and it may pollute a man
or, you know.

So, it has led to admonishments,
and regulations,

and etiquette
around how you should be

or should not be managing
your period.

- Unfortunately, in India,
the majority of the men

still believe that this is
something that they can use,

almost as if
it's a figurative weapon,

to oppress
the women further.

You know "This is -- It's your
fault you have your periods.

Why do you -- Why are you
bleeding every month?"

It's not supposed to be natural,
according to them.

It's something
that's abnormal.

- Conservative Hindu groups
say they believe women

of menstruating age would defile
the temple's inner shrine.

- My mother is a very staunch
believer of this taboo

that we should not enter
the kitchen and the temple

when we are in periods.

So, sometimes, when I'm with her
at her home,

I usually lie
about having periods,

so that I get an access to
the kitchen and to the temple.

So, that's what I do.

I know she's going to kill me
for that,

but this is what
I do often.

- We are so conditioned
by so many forces to have

not just feelings
about menstruation,

but deep-seated beliefs
about menstruation.

From ancient history
to politics

to religion to advertising
to product development,

we're all sold a story
that menstruation is negative.

And how do you fight
against that?

How do you fight
against this mind-set

that's so...

so a part of us,
at this point?

-♪ The future is female ♪

Yeah. Cool.

♪ The future is female ♪

♪ How could "girly"
ever be an insult? ♪

♪ All the women I know
are ones moving culture ♪

♪ What would happen
if we all would lead ♪

♪ With a little less aggression,
more femininity? ♪

♪ We have to value girls
more than our looks ♪

- I have a song called
"The Future is Female,"

which went viral during
2017 Women's March.

And I have a line towards the
end of the second verse

that says,
"We've been bleeding each month

until we gave birth to you."

And I put that line in there
because it's just such

an obvious way for us, as women,
to not only command respect

for what our bodies do,
but also to say that

this is such a normal function
of the biological female

that it shouldn't be something
that is shamed.

If we want to move the needle
on gender equality,

we have to get talking, and we
have to take leadership.

Everything is so taboo.

Can't talk about
masturbation.

Can't talk about periods.
Can't talk about our anatomy.

Every single day,
all around the world,

women and people who bleed
are getting up, and waking up,

and doing incredible things
on their cycle.

And not only do we have to
sort of suffer in silence

when we are uncomfortable,
but we have to also pretend

that it doesn't exist.

And that's oppressive.

And we can't tolerate
that anymore.

- It really does solve
so many of the world's problems

when a girl has access
to education.

- The idea that menstruation
could be the lens

for kind of cracking that open
is radical and totally amazing.

- I've always had, like,
struggled with my period,

so I was like, "How do I learn
how to celebrate this moment?"

- Speaking of
menstrual blood --

which we weren't,
but I always am.

- For anyone in here who actually
does menstruate, like that --

You would never wear
that outfit.

- Who are you wearing
this evening?

- Vivienne Westwood,
Tom Ford shoes,

and an OB tampon!

Whoo! Ooh!

- We are so thrilled to be
in New York City this weekend.

We have never been part
of a conference,

and a group
of this many people,

getting together
to talk about periods.

The cultural norms
of menstruation

are changing
right now.

- If you ever want to have an
adult relationship with a woman,

like, if you want to have sex
with a woman's vagina,

you need to be comfortable
with the fact that

the vagina menstruates.

And just say "menstruation."
It's not a big deal.

- I just got my period.

Any second, there's gonna be
an explosion,

and there's gonna be blood,
like, everywhere.

- Now, you must be aware
of this movie, "Pad Man."

So, a lot of people, the masses,
are aware of it.

-♪ Pad Man ♪

♪ Pad Man ♪

- And just imagine families
watching "Pad Man" together,

where the hero
is talking about the pad,

is definitely going to be
a positive trend.

People will be more open
to talk about it.

- So, change is happening
in our administration in India,

big time, because of a lot of,
you know, press,

and there's a lot of social
media campaigns around this.

- There's a whole campaign from
India called "Touch the Pickle."

Have you seen that?

And I said to the woman,
I was like, "What?"

And she said, "Yeah. In India,
you can't touch a pickle."

She touched the pickle!

- You can't touch a pickle
when you have your period.

And so, in India,
they did a whole campaign

where a young girl
is running through the streets

saying she can touch
the pickle.

- Yay!
- Yeah!

She touched the pickle!

- The fact that, yes,
she can touch a pickle

and have her period at the same
time is revelatory.

- It's me.

It's not my period.

- Question what you do and
challenge the period status quo.

- I think, the more that
menstruation becomes normalized,

the more that we, as women and
femmes, are able to reclaim

our own body,
and not be ashamed of it.

- As the menstruation
conversation widens,

some of the important voices
are those from the trans

and the nonbinary
communities.

We have to understand
that not all women menstruate,

and not all people
who menstruate are women.

- My name is Kenny Jones,
24 years old,

from London,
born and raised.

I'm a trans model
and activist.

I'm the first person, first
trans man that I know of

in the UK especially,
to talk about menstruation

as a whole,
and my personal experience.

There's not much conversation
around trans and menstruation.

I think that's because...

quite afraid of talking about it
because, you know,

that was my worry,
because it kind of takes --

you don't want to take away
your trans-ness,

and my definition as a man, by
saying that you still experience

something that is known
in today's society as feminine.

So, you don't want to kind of
put yourself in that category.

Some people, you spend your
whole entire life

trying to be masculine and,
you know,

force a kind of persona,

so that everyone else
will hold you to that.

And then, you're gonna
turn around and be like,

"Oh, by the way,
I have periods,"

although that is always seen as,
you know, a woman's thing.

I had my first period
when I was about 15.

Hated it.

I could, you know,
bind down my chest,

so I didn't really have to
worry about that.

No one would be looking
at my downstairs.

But I couldn't stop what
a period was doing to me,

you know, and it would force me
to stay indoors, sometimes.

Just imagine not having a period
for, like, six months,

and then, it trying to kick you
in the face.

That's how it feels.

But, no, it's not nice.

And that's kind of why
I felt to be more open

about talking about it,
because I thought,

"If I'm going through this
as a trans man, I guarantee that

there are other trans men
that are experiencing this."

- There's an exciting opportunity
in this menstruation space

to really empower and elevate
people to lift their own voices

and their own experiences
and their own stories

and to be being
more inclusive

and more open
and more honest

and have a more healthy dialogue
around menstruation

that enables people to see it
in a different light,

and talk about it
more freely.

- I am the founder
of Myna Mahila Foundation,

an NGO that essentially empowers
women to talk about the issues

that they're most afraid
to discuss aloud.

We started in May 2015,

along with a group
of community leaders

from across
the Mumbai slums.

What drove me
to starting Myna,

and to doing the kind of work
that we're doing here

on menstrual hygiene was
the stories of these women.

These women had all of these
horror stories.

They would use
all kinds of things

because pads were too
unaffordable for them.

They would use rags and leaves
and mud in some places,

which we'd see in rural areas,
as well.

And it just was a topic that
they were afraid to speak about,

just like they were very afraid
to invest in their own bodies,

and in their own health.

So, we realized this was not
just about pads.

It was not just about
menstrual hygiene.

It was something much bigger
than that.

It was something
a lot more inherent,

and something about the mind-set
that we really needed to change.

We decided unanimously,
in the conversations with them,

that we were going to create
a tangible product

for getting them out of their
house to come out and work,

employing them in their local
communities.

We provide them with a lot of
menstrual hygiene awareness,

and education, as well,
about their bodies.

The hope is that, when they're
going to door-to-door

talking about pads and periods,
this is the kind of information

that they would disseminate
to those customers,

and to those people
across slums in Mumbai.

- One of the things
that's really special, I think,

about this issue is the way
in which it...

so many people,
girls primarily, you know,

those who menstruate, relate to
it, and want to find a solution.

And so,
I think there's been this real

innovation in this space.

If organizations producing
improved reusable products,

or improved disposable
products --

and oftentimes, those are
embedded in models

where local women are making
the products, and therefore,

you're supporting their
economics or well-being

along with the product.

- We can't really have the
conversation about menstruation

without considering
the environmental impact.

The average menstruating person
contributes anywhere up to

425 pounds of disposable tampons
and pads per year.

That's why reusables, such as
an eco-friendly menstrual cup

or a reusable pad, are a much
more sustainable solution

for many communities
around the world.

- Every girl was like,
"Disposable pad is not solution

for us because, number one,
environmentally,

they are not clean, and then,
we cannot dispose

because we don't
have toilets.

The place is rocky.

We cannot even dig.

and we don't
have toilets."

Every woman here
is part of my work,

and I feel good knowing that
I don't want any other girls

suffering on the street the way
I did.

So, I'm making sure.

Peaches, when she came here,
she was coming just to look

for a job, but then, when she
told me about her story,

I was like, "You have to be part
of Days for Girls."

Lucy is a neighbor.

She's our partition neighbor.

But they travel all the way
from Komarock

to come here
and make a living.

So, here, at my enterprise,
I have women that we work with.

We produce the pad.

Like, we buy the flannel,

we cut it, and produce
everything until when we take it

to the schools, or wherever,
or whoever is buying it from us.

It is a project
that help us bring income,

and for the girls
who dropped out of school,

they get opportunity to work and
get some money for their living.

After cutting, you put
the process together.

And then, you put the pockets,
and then, you turn them.

You get the...

- Hello, girls.

How are you today?

You're fine?

Yes. My name is Anne.

I am from Days for Girls.

I'm going to show you briefly
what Days for Girls does.

This is a product
of Days for Girls.

Inside this bag
is a Days for Girls kit.

Inside this kit,
we have a shield.

Okay.

So, we call it a "shield"

because we use it
to protect ourselves.

Now, this cloth is made
in a very special way that,

even if you hang it out
in the sun there,

no one will know
that it is your pad.

- According to our culture,
you are not allowed

just to hang
your private things there,

so the pattern
that we have used --

the flowers, and the shapes,
and everything --

it makes people understand
it is just a washcloth.

It might be a handkerchief,
because it looks more beautiful.

It gives the girl the confidence
to use it.

- Now, we make it like this,
with a drawstring bag,

so that you can carry it
to school.

Okay?

So, you do not only carry
this bag

when it is menstruation time,

but you also carry the bag
during other school days,

and put your books.

And when menstruation comes,

when that time
of the month comes,

you just put
your kit inside.

Who would want
to use the kit?

- Days for Girls has really
changed a lot of girls

that I'm working with,
because there are those

who could not go anywhere
when they didn't have pads.

But now, they have pad, and it
lasts three even to four years.

It has really changed their life
because they stay in school.

Days for Girls
has really empowered me

to empower other girls,
so I feel good.

I feel empowered.

I feel loved, because these girl
out there,

they get information
from the person

who has really walked
this journey herself.

- Kenya is quite ahead, when you
talk about taking the issue

of menstrual health
as a priority.

There has been a zero rating
on tax on sanitary products.

There are very many efforts by
government to make it possible

to access
sanitary products

for people living in not very
well-to-do communities.

I want us to be the champions
for our girls.

When you think about
people living in slum areas,

people living in very rural
and poor neighborhoods,

it will take time for government
to be able to reach out

to all these people
with free products every month

for every girl
out there.

If we can get technologies that
allow women to have products

that can be used once, washed,
and then used again,

then, you are getting rid of
an expense at a family level,

money that would have gone into
something else.

So, we are quite excited
about some of these innovations

on reusable
menstrual products.

- We were looking into reusable
sanitary towels.

Then, I held discussion
with the women,

and they were telling me, "What
does she do if she has two?

Where does she put it?
in her handbag?

And when she comes home,

where will she get the water
to wash it?

How hygienic is it
to reuse?"

And then, there's also
the other problem where,

if she hangs it out
on the line,

then, she's looking poor
because she can't afford

what is considered the upmarket
way of handling a period.

I mean, I wouldn't, myself, want
to have to wash my period panty,

you know, wash it,
and then hang it out.

- Days for Girls.

Are you familiar with
Days for Girls?

- No.

- So, they have a great model
that I can --

We should introduce you
to Christine, the woman who...

- Yes. Yep.

- They have an enterprise model
where women here

make reusable pads, and they
have a pattern already made,

so, women here just produce them
and then sell them locally.

- Uh-huh. So, are they making
them in Kenya?

- They're making them here,
but they're not --

You can't tell they're sanitary
pads, because they fold out

in a certain way,
and they don't stain.

So, girls can
hang them up,

and it just looks like
a handkerchief.

- No way. Bush?
- Yeah?

- Okay, Bush,
you have an assignment.

One week to get me to see
this organization.

- Christine.
- Right?

And we can empower her, and then
empower others through her.

Can I meet her
on Tuesday?

- Tuesday is going to
be difficult.

- Come on, Bush.
I need this.

- Okay.
- Make it happen.

- In the engagement that I've had
with activists and advocates

and policymakers
and innovators,

you know, from India to Nepal
to Kenya to Europe,

I've actually seen such a way
of addressing this question

that is so much
more advanced

than what's happening
here in the United States.

And it's so much more both
complex and pragmatic

and effective
than what we see here.

To me, that was the green light
to move forward with bigger,

badder, more far-reaching,
higher-impact legislation,

especially that would touch
lives who need it the most.

For all of us,
$0.08 on the dollar matters,

and there is
a certain inequity there

that needed to be addressed.

But for people who are
struggling most economically,

these products really need
to be made freely available.

So, that's what we've done,
starting here in New York City,

in the summer of 2016,

where we were able to pass
a slate of laws

that menstrual products
would be freely provided

in all of the city's
public schools, shelters,

and correction
facilities.

Eight states passed laws
this past year

focusing on jails and prisons
and ensuring that people

who are incarcerated

are not denied access
to menstrual products.

There's also been progress
at the federal level

here in
the United States.

There have been major bills that
have been introduced in Congress

over the past year or so.

And I'd say that
seeing U.S. legislators,

including US Senator Cory Booker
and Kamala Harris

speak out about this issue
so boldly

has been really
game-changing.

- I can't hear you!

- Aah!

- I didn't go to
my first march

until right after
the 2016 election.

This is not part of
my collective history.

- My first one
was in 1989.

Let me see your pins.
Yeah, look at them all.

Did you design
those all?

- Just the "resist" one
and this one.

-#Trumpbusters.

- Trumpbusters.
We'll hashtag you.

We've got
a great, big election

coming up in the United States
in 2020.

I would like to see
menstrual equity

on both both parties' agendas
for that election season.

I actually believe that
menstruation, having this,

like, menstrual lens of looking
at our society

is the ticket to so much bigger
and bolder change.

And once we can talk about
periods,

if we're actually creating
a new way to frame issues,

to frame the way lawmakers are
willing to look at, you know,

women's lives as a whole,

we could be actually paving
an entirely new path.

- When I think about women, and I
think about menstrual equity,

I think about what we are doing
around the country.

You know,
it's so unfortunate

that we have to even write
legislation, you know, asking.

Like, why are we asking for
something that we should have?

If we're going
to be incarcerated,

then, you need to provide us
with our basic human needs.

Pads and tampons
are one of them.

We went to the Feds,
and we said,

"Hey, we want to end
the shackling of women

while during child labor,"
that we wanted to make sure

that women have proper
hygiene products.

We wanted to make sure
that children are within

a 500-mile proximity
to their parents,

so that we have family
reunification,

and that male guards
can't just come into spaces

where women are unclothed,
and so on and so forth.

- Something is actually getting
done on Capitol Hill --

a very good thing.

- It's called
the First Step Act.

It's a sweeping
bipartisan bill

that overhauls parts of the
federal criminal justice system.

- The First Step Act include the
dignity provisions within it,

so that the women on the federal
level will have access

to personal hygiene products,
pads and tampons specifically.

Write it in your budget.

Make sure that we have
the things that we need.

Treat people the way
you want to be treated.

I mean, I think that
just is simple.

It's something that
we all can do.

We can look at our neighbor,
whether they're incarcerated

or not, and say, "Hey, I see the
conditions that you're in,

and I want to be helpful."

- The next Labour government
will provide funding

for free sanitary products
for secondary schools,

for food banks,
and for homeless shelters.

So, our policy is to ensure that
anyone who is menstruating

will have access to products
without feeling ashamed,

without having to miss school,
and without having to miss work.

We're dedicated to ensuring that
there's products in schools,

colleges, universities,
and homeless shelters.

And we're committed to do that
on day one of us

entering office
and government.

- I dream of the day
that the Red Box Project

is entirely redundant.

We shouldn't have to provide
these products

using donations
from the community.

It's a scandal that
that is the case,

that they are not provided
everywhere and for free.

- Yeah, I really do hope
that my children

get free supplies
at school.

And it's not that I can't afford
to buy them for them.

I can.

I want them to see
other children taking them.

I want them to have
them offered to them.

I want them to feel that thing
of, "This is not something

you should be ashamed of,
and this is not something

that is your fault,
and that you are supposed

to bear the burden of."

This is not, like,
just a tax on having

the reproductive system
you have.

And here is the stuff you need
to deal with it.

- Hundreds of conservative
Hindu protesters

march on the streets of Koshi,
calling for most women

to stay out of
the Sabarimala temple.

- On Tuesday, thousands of women
in Kerala formed a human chain

to demand access
to the building.

- On Wednesday, two women,
under the cover of darkness,

and with a police escort,
breached the ban.

The temple had refused
to allow women

of menstruating age
to enter.

- So, we feel the work that we
are doing, in terms of taboos,

the effect it's going to show,
it's going to take some time.

It's not that easy to change
the behavior in something

so deep-rooted
within them.

So, I feel this generation,

they're not going to carry on
with this taboo.

So, definitely,
the next generation

is not going to carry forward
this thing.

- Today, you've got
social media.

And the conversations that are
going on in there I think

are to do with the challenges
that we face as a society.

I think these issues are coming
to the girl child.

- With this next generation
of millennials,

they're not willing
to just accept things

because that's the way
they've always been.

As a society,
our consciousness is raising,

and we're not moving away from
just being programmed

to think a certain way.

- If we could talk
about menstruation

in a matter-of-fact,
conversational way,

like in this film, that alone
would destigmatize so much,

and make the experience
not so negative.

And then, we wouldn't have
all this other stuff

we had to grapple with.
It's just a part of life.

- I really do want to live
in a world where,

instead of living in this
masculine-over-feminine

ranking system, we live in
a true spectrum.

Then, people wouldn't feel
embarrassed, or a type of way,

as to what gender identity
they were,

because one gender identity

wouldn't connote privilege
over the other.

- I pride myself on being
right up there with everybody,

and seeing myself
as an equal.

I just want it to be, like,
a normal conversation.

Like, there's no force
behind it.

People don't feel like
it's a kind of "fight and fuel"

riots kind of movement.

- The Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation had stated

a couple of years ago, "If we
get the question

of menstruation right,
we'll get everything right.

And on the flip side,
if we get it wrong,

we're just losing an
entire aspect

of the reality of millions and
millions of women and girls."

We have to get this right.

This is sort of
the cornerstone

of getting all other questions
of equity and equality

and inclusion right.

- These girls, they can change
the course of this nation.

They can become
whatever they want.

They can be very powerful

because they have
their own money.

They make
their own choices.

They have the freedom
to make their own choices,

and the life they live
is better,

and even the generation
to come,

because they do not allow their
girls to go without the pads,

or anybody to mistreat them,
because they are very powerful.

-♪ The future is female ♪

♪ The future is female ♪

♪ There's power in what you say,
in what you say ♪

♪ Own your voice,
don't be afraid ♪

♪ Don't be afraid ♪

Can you turn it louder,
a little bit?

♪ I heard Amy Poehler
speak at the White House ♪

♪ Her words hit me hard
like a light bulb ♪

♪ Fictitious depictions
of girls must die out ♪

♪ If we want to live
in a world that triumphs ♪

♪ I am just talking about
loving the femme ♪

♪ I ain't talking 'bout
nobody else ♪

♪ Toxic masculinity
has to end ♪

♪ I'm just talking about
loving ourselves ♪

♪ You can catch me singing these
words in a black or white ♪

♪ "Future is Female"
T-shirt ♪

♪ Like "Ay,"
me, I got something to say ♪

♪ Gender constructions
just get in the way ♪

♪ I've been playing drums
since I was, like, 8 ♪

♪ The future is female,
the future is great ♪

♪ The future is female ♪

♪ There's power in what you say,
in what you say ♪

♪ Own your voice,
don't be afraid ♪

♪ Don't be afraid ♪

♪ There's power in what you say,
in what you say ♪

♪ Own your voice,
don't be afraid ♪

♪ Don't be afraid ♪

♪ How could "girly"
ever be an insult? ♪

♪ All the women I know
are ones moving culture ♪

♪ What would happen
if we all would lead ♪

♪ With a little less aggression,
more femininity? ♪

♪ We have to value girls
more than their looks ♪

♪ The biggest threat
is a girl with a book ♪

♪ The system must make room
for all that we do ♪

♪ We've been bleeding each month
till we gave birth to you ♪

You know, to me,
"The future is female" means

that no longer
will female qualities

be subordinated
to male qualities.

I want to live in a world
that is collaborative,

a world that is emotionally
intelligent,

a world in which we are linked
and not ranked.

♪ The future ♪