On the 22nd of May 2022, Period Matters was pre-launched as part of International Menstrual Hygiene Day celebrations, at LUMS, a university in Lahore. The cover was revealed with an explanation of its art work, made by Lyla FreeChild with her menstrual blood. Amna Mawaz Khan’s menstrual dance, commissioned for the book, was shown publicly for the first time. This was then followed by a discussion with Radha Paudel, Amna Mawaz Khan and Ayra Inderyas Patras who discussed the challenges of coping with menstruation and menopause in places of work.
The soft launch of the anthology coincided with the installation of vending machines offering a choice of menstrual products, pain relief medication and underpants, across LUMS university and in the female hostels, making it one of the first universities in Pakistan to become ‘period friendly’. This was the culmination of three years of effort and my persistently lobbying the male dominated administration to support female faculty and students.
When will period products be readily available in all work places? What does it take for people to realise that periods are normal?
