Women’s History Month - 2022
By: Alexandra Castaneda
Published: June 5, 2022
Overview:
The month of March is designated to celebrate and honor the contributions of women to historic events, culture, and day-to-day living. Almost everywhere in history and present-day, you see women overlooked and dismissed for their major accomplishments and initiatives that they deserve recognition in. For this reason in 1981 Congress finally passed Pub. L. 97-28 proclaiming that on March 7th, 1982 it will begin its first “Women’s History Week”, eventually leading Congress in 19887 to pass an additional resolution that allowed the President to declare March of each year as “Women's History Month”.
Menstruation Statistics:
There are an estimated 16.9 million people who menstruate living in poverty in the United States. The research found that almost two-thirds of low-income women in the U.S. could not afford menstrual products in the last year, while nearly half sometimes had to choose between buying food or menstrual products. Unfortunately, one in five American girls misses part or all of their school days due to their periods.
Global Menstruation Statistics:
BIPOC individuals are more likely to experience period poverty due to systemic racism, which creates barriers for BIPOC individuals to access the products that they need. In Nepal and Afghanistan, 30 percent of girls report missing school during their periods. In India, over 20 percent of girls drop out of school completely after reaching puberty.
Importance:
It’s important to remember as we celebrate the month of March to recognize other women in need. As seen from the statistics above women all around the world are in need of menstrual products. Advocating this situation and aiding women with menstrual products can help hundreds of thousands out there. Supporting this change can encourage women to make even more changes in the future.
Blog Sources: womenshistory.org, womenshistorymonth.gov, medicalnewstoday.com, nursing.upenn.edu, and thecitizen.in
Image From: edi.nhi.gov