2024 Menstrual Reclamations Zine

Winter 2024

Volume 2

Menstrual Reclamations

Table of Contents Cover Page by Abbey Marshall/POLITICO on the first National Period Day Rally

Profits Over Periods and People by Miranda Lu.......................Pg. 2 Heavy, Thick, Watery, Clotted, Stringy, ETC. by Miranda Lu ....Pg. 3 Gaze by Paridhi Chawla.......................................................... Pg. 5 The Period Process by Iris Ren Pg. 6 Meet The Finalists

Youth Champion Awards......... until the End!

Menstrual Reclamations is a Zine focused on the embodiment of menstruation.

Menstrual Reclamation is about reasserting the right of dignifying menstruation and redefining menstrual histories, identities, and experiences. This winter, we focused on capturing expressions of community change, activism, and organizing. We believe - and history has repeatedly shown - that youth voices are a critical part of social change. Formal and informal organizing led by youth champions are critical to the Menstrual Movement. We’re excited to highlight the finalists for PERIOD.’s Youth Champion Awards. These advocates and organizers have been devoted to the movement, as shown through their innovative, community-focused efforts to eradicate period poverty and stigma.

Regan Moss, Salika Vummarao, Stacey Johnson, Denia Smith The Rag Co-Editors

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An installation highlighting the diversity of period flows among individual menstruators, throughout the menstrual cycle.

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An installation highlighting the diversity of period flows among individual menstruators, throughout the menstrual cycle.

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Gaze

by Paridhi Chawla In a world where over half of the population embraces the profound phenomenon of menstruation, the act of beholding one's own essence becomes a universal yet uniquely personal narrative. Through this piece, I aspire to not only share but also to celebrate the profound act of gazing upon oneself and acknowledging the shared human experience it represents.

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Meet The Finalists ards Youth Champion Aw

This year, PERIOD.'s Youth Advisory Council selected activists who have deeply advanced menstrual equity in their own communities around the globe. We are excited to highlight these phenomenal leaders!

A dvocacy Saanvi Arora (she/her) Saanvi is a student at UC Berkeley and executive director of the Youth Power Project. Last year, Saanvi wrote a bill in the California state legislature (AB-598) that edits the state’s K-12 sexual education framework to include and emphasize discussions on where to access sexual healthcare.

Valentina Valcarce (she/her) Valentina is an 18-year-old Latina and the founder of the Girls' Empowerment Council of The Americas (GECA). Valentina contributed to developing over 15 policies for cities across Brazil promoting menstrual hygiene with the nonprofit Love Cycle. She also co-authored Law nº23904, guaranteeing access to menstrual pads for 35,541 women in Cataguases, Minas Gerais.

Gopiga Dass (she/her) Gopiga is a sophomore at Temple University and the community outreach coordinator at PERIOD @ Temple.

Gopiga mobilized her peers for Pennsylvania Bills 850 and 851 by writing articles, launching a petition, and spearheading Philadelphia's first-ever PERIOD Action Day. She is also conducting a research study on barriers to menstrual cup usage among young Americans.

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Meet The Finalists ards Youth Champion Aw

This year, PERIOD.'s Youth Advisory Council selected activists who have deeply advanced menstrual equity in their own communities around the globe. We are excited to highlight these phenomenal leaders!

E d u c a ti o n Bishal Panthi (they/him) Bishal is a student at Kathmandu Model College in Kathmandu, Nepal. Through strategic collaborations with nonprofit organizations and government officials, Bishal successfully advocated for integrating menstrual health into school curriculums and collaborated with healthcare experts to create sanitary napkins from cotton fibers.

Dhiraj Shah (Dhiraj) Dhiraj is a student at Nobel Medical College in Biratnagar, Nepal. As the President and Ambassador of their college's Rotary Club and Nepal Health Corps, Dhiraj initiated educational workshops on reusable cloth pads. Through collaborations with local organizations and community engagement, Dhiraj successfully distributed over 5000 pads, including 1,000 reusable pads, to financially disadvantaged families.

Marcela Reyes (she/her) Marcela works with PERIOD Guatemala to lead investigations throughout the country on menstrual health.

Her findings have been compiled in various formats, from the fanzine “¡me vino!”, a menstrual diary and tracker, and a paper presented at academic conferences.

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Meet The Finalists ards Youth Champion Aw

This year, PERIOD.'s Youth Advisory Council selected activists who have deeply advanced menstrual equity in their own communities around the globe. We are excited to highlight these phenomenal leaders!

S e r vic e Aliyah Saleem (she/her) Aliyah Is a student at Rutgers University In Newark, New Jersey.

Aliyah Is the founder of Hope for Health and Hygiene (H4HH), a nonprofit that addresses poverty through food and hygiene products. Through her work, she has been able to serve her community through providing thousands of menstrual products, and begin a wellness center In her local library.

Ashley Ding (she/her) Ashley is a student at Lake Nona High School In Orlando, Florida. She Is the Founder and President of the global nonprofit, The Period Poverty Initiative. She was also the recipient of the 2023 Girl Up Project Award for a homeless period product initiative.

Ishita Bafna (she/her) Ishita is a student at Enloe High School In Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ishita Is part of an Initiative, “Gotcha Covered,” to help provide menstrual products to middle school students through a partnership with the North Carolina Diaper Bank. She has also collaborated with the Lemelson-MIT foundation, through inventing and trialing a pad to screen for cervical diseases.

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Meet The Winners! ards Youth Champion Aw

This year, PERIOD.'s Youth Advisory Council selected activists who have deeply advanced menstrual equity in their own communities around the globe. We are excited to highlight these phenomenal leaders!

Fiona Lu (she/her), Advocacy Fiona Lu (she/her) is a first-year at UCLA studying Public Affairs and Labor Studies, and her hometown is in Orange County. Fiona worked with Esther Lau to write and pitch SB 260 in California. To push the bill through the legislature, Fiona and Esther built the End Period Poverty CA Coalition, a partnership of 12 co-authors, 13 cosponsors, and over 60 organizations that supported the bill.

Bushra Mahnoor (she/they), Service Bushra started a campaign for safe periods during disasters in Pakistan. She authored Pakistan’s first superhero comic book.

Through her work, Bushra and her team supplied safe period supplies to 150,000 flood affectees.

Ananya Malde (she/her), Education Ananya is a dynamic 16-year-old high school junior from Bangalore, India. She aims to reduce menstruation-related school absenteeism and dropouts among girls in rural areas of India through her organization, Project Pragati.

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