Training Jinnah University Leaders to Become Menstrual Champions

Saba Khalid from Aurat Raaj, and the founder of Girlythings, Tanzila Khan led a virtual session with the young students from Jinnah University. The purpose of this session was to train these students to become future menstrual leaders and advocates in their communities. 

The session was divided into four main parts: introduction, storytelling with a purpose, sharing their learning experience along with discussing period poverty and guiding girls to be advocates in communities through various media such as art, media, and community services. 

Introduction

Tanzila Khan started the session with an exciting scavenger game to break the ice and engage the audience. This competition included fascinating questions and facts related to menstruation around the globe, such as the concept of Bashali. Bashali is a place where women are exiled or confined. It refers to the practice of segregating menstruating women.

Storytelling with a purpose

In this part, Tanzila Khan shared an intriguing story of a school-going girl named Amina. This story described several issues that young girls encounter when they start their period due to the lack of knowledge and taboos associated with periods in society. For example, no one, including Amina’s teacher and mother, educated Amina about periods. They just gave her a piece of cloth to use for dealing with it silently. It also emphasized the lack of a sanitization system and availability of menstrual products in schools, high cost, and societal stigma linked with the periods.

Sharing experiences and period poverty 

In this part, Tanzila asked the girls about their learnings and critical issues highlighted in the story while relating them to their personal experiences. Following this, Tanzila discussed the concept of period poverty and how it affects women. For instance, when women cannot afford period products at a reasonable price, they are forced to adopt unhygienic ways of dealing with it as a piece of cloth and tissues.

End of the session

Saba Khalid guided the young girls on becoming future menstrual leaders and advocates in their communities. To spread awareness regarding menstrual education and combat taboos linked with the periods to make young girls deal with the periods hygienically. Saba also guided these girls on several types of menstrual advocacy using several resources such as writings, illustrations, social media, and using technology such as applications, games, and Artificial Intelligence. She also highlighted advocacy through welfare and fundraising.