Think of going into a public restroom with no toilet paper, soap, or running water. Most people’s first thought would be to get out of there, but are not having accessible feminine products that different? Our world needs to get to a point where tampons and pads aren’t a luxury but a necessity.

An average woman menstruates for two to seven days, 12 months a year, for 40 years. Adding all of the cycles together in a woman’s life would equal about 10 years of menstruating. According to Dollars and Sense, women spend around $6,360 in their lives for proper feminine hygiene. This doesn’t include money for medications, liners, diva cups, or new undergarments. The mild to severe pain ladies feel before or during their cycle can be treated, but is yet again another luxury some may not be able to afford.

Swns Digital says that almost 60 percent of respondents confessed to budgeting to buy sanitary items, and 79 percent have made sacrifices or gone with less to meet their needs. Using fewer products than needed during a cycle because of your finances is called “period poverty” and needs to be stopped in the U.S. 

Canada has already started providing menstrual products in all federal workspaces and according to Liberal.ca, they’re donating over $25 million to women shelters and nonprofits for feminine use. Calif, N.Y., Ill., N.H. and Va. have already started this movement by passing a law to ensure that schools provide free tampons and pads. This is a good start to our global issue and it is just the beginning.

World Bank announced that almost half of the world lives on less than 5.50 a day. Lower-class families shouldn’t have to worry about buying safe feminine products when there are so many other necessities beyond this needed for everyday life: food, clean water and housing take precedence over TVs, fancy appliances or getting your nails done. In my opinion, I wouldn’t put tampons or pads in this category because we don’t have any control over our cycle unless for medical reasons. 1.8 billion people in the world menstruate and this means that proper feminine care should be a priority. Not having the choice to buy these items makes it more likely you’ll try dangerous ways to control them. This can lead to TSS (toxic shock syndrome) which occurs when you try to use menstrual products for longer than their recommended use. This is extremely dangerous and even though it’s rare, it can be life-threatening. Less than the proper supply of menstrual products gives women more of a chance to catch this deadly disease and others.

Although I’m sure the government is busy, this issue should have been resolved years ago. Women have been on this earth for over 120,000 years – how many cycles is it going to take until this problem is solved? One box of tampons a month, or one Diva cup for every few months would solve a problem nearly 30% of the world is facing. Let’s end this problem and lead the world into a comfortable place for all women.