Delta Phi Epsilon, a coeducational foreign service society focused on global affairs, held its Spring 2024 Week of Action in early March to combat “period poverty,” the global lack of adequate menstrual products and education. 

The Week of Action included a panel of nonprofit advocates, the beginning of a month-long period product drive and a fundraiser to raise donations for the local women’s shelter, which will last until the end of March.

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DPE is also combating period poverty by hosting a pad drive at each residential college, which is accepting donations of menstrual products through donation bins that will remain on campus for the rest of March, when they will be donated to the Downtown Women’s Center. 

To raise funds for the global issue of period poverty, DPE tabled on Trousdale Parkway with a bake sale with proceeds going to Dignity Period, a global nonprofit that supplies people worldwide with reusable menstrual products. From March 5 to March 7, DPE also had menstrual cramp simulators alongside its bake sale for passersby to try on in exchange for donating to the cause. This exercise, Dennin said, could help people who don’t menstruate to empathize with those who do.

The foreign service society hosts a variety of events centered around humanitarian service and professional development, including a Week of Action hosted each semester that highlights a specific global issue. 

Orion Dennin, DPE’s director of humanitarian service, said he chose the subject of period poverty in an effort to highlight both humanitarian and women’s issues worldwide. 

“This semester, I wanted to focus on the intersectionality of humanitarian aid … and women’s rights and menstrual equality,” said Dennin, a sophomore majoring in public policy as well as American popular culture. “We’re striving to address menstrual equity on both a global and local [scale].”

The panel, hosted March 5, titled “Combating Gender Inequality and Promoting Global Menstrual Equity in Humanitarianism,” included three panelists: Candice Chirwa, author and board member of Pandemic Periods; Angie Wiseman, executive director of Dignity Period; and Maebel Gebremedhin, founder and executive director of Tigray Action Committee. The panelists spoke about their efforts to mitigate period poverty.

Gebremedhin, a Tigrayan American, spoke of her experience working in period health during the Tigray War in Ethiopia. 

“[Menstrual products] were some of the first things that were unavailable,” Gebremedhin said. “[In] areas that are very high-conflict, basic needs are not being met in any way.” 

Chirwa, who is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, also provides menstrual products to people through Pandemic Periods. As a member of Pandemic Periods’ governance board, Chirwa works with initiatives in over 25 countries to “drive a stronger, intersectional and global menstrual health narrative.” 

Chirwa said she faces difficulties providing these products in rural areas of Africa because of a lack of education and resources. Culturally, certain period products like tampons are considered “taboo,” she said. Other structural issues include limited access to water, with members of rural communities having to walk five kilometers just for a water tap. 

The panelists also discussed paths to combat period poverty. Chirwa highlighted the need for collaboration between governmental organizations and nonprofits to tackle this issue from the perspective of both health and education.

Gebremedhin said period poverty needs more recognition worldwide, including in Western culture. 

“If women’s issues weren’t so taboo [around the world], this would not be such a big issue,” Gebremedhin said. “Women are excluded from a lot of things, especially in … politics,” she said, which can cause efforts to combat period poverty to take a backseat even though the issue affects about half of the population. 

Chirwa said the Western media centers men’s perspectives, which can lead to women’s issues such as menstrual equity being overlooked. 

“There is a need to shift the narrative … especially for our policymakers,” she said.

To make periods more accepted, Wiseman has tried to create “period rooms” in schools as quiet and relaxing places for students who menstruate.

Panelists also mentioned the importance of recognizing how race can affect people’s perceptions of period poverty. Gebremedhin said the issue exists globally, especially in regions affected by war like Ukraine, but she said it is only talked about in the Global South. 

Dennin said DPE plans to combine global efforts with local efforts to mitigate period poverty. Specifically, the money it raised will go toward obtaining materials for menstrual kits that can last up to 18 months. 

Lenna Ahmed, an active member of DPE and a junior majoring in international relations and the global economy, said the Week of Action and ongoing period product donations are a great way to spread awareness about period poverty. 

“Globally, there has to be more talk about periods,” Ahmed said. “There is a lot [being done]. Being cognizant of that now can help me and other people make the right steps towards making period equity … a reality.”