3: Her Health Matters

Members: Ronise D., Jaleyna L., Jennifer N., Kara S., Leah V.

Impact Partner: Michelle Mclean Children Trust (Namibia)

The Challenge: Her Health Matters aims to provide women and girls in Namibian communities with menstrual products, as well as to challenge stigmas surrounding menstruation in order to promote female empowerment and increase female participation in classrooms and the workplace.

SDGs Addressed: (3) Good Health & Well-Being, (5) Gender Equality

The Solution: Our proposed solution is to create a committee through which women can access sanitary products while feeling empowered rather than shameful. The committee will be responsible for donation drives which will allow different organizations to donate menstrual products to Namibian communities. Her Health Matters would like to partner with organizations such as Thinx, whose reusable period underwear offset the expenses of regularly replacing menstrual products. Apart from these menstrual provisions, we also want to close the gender inequality gap by hosting seminars that promote menstrual education, challenge period stigmas, and teach women how to take up space in classrooms and the workplace.

The Reason: As an all-female group, we relate to the necessity for menstrual products and want to help periods more comfortable and equitable throughout the world. No woman or girl should lack access to the products they need to care for their bodies, nor should they have to sacrifice their education or employment for such a natural bodily process. By providing menstrual products, we can help women feel more secure and self-confident in their own bodies. In addition, we want to empower women to strive for success in the workforce and instill in them the confidence they need to continue their education.