Stick-her Shock

I took the pink plastic package over to the scanner to check the price. 19,958 stared at me from the monitor. Shock rattled through me. I went back to the display shelf, searching in vain for a cheaper item, a different brand. There was none. I turned the package over in my hands, wondering how badly I needed them. There were 16 inside. Would that be enough for this month? I knew, though, that I didn't have a choice so I put the package in my cart and pushed it to the escalator. 19,958 for one package. 

Pads.

It's not a topic we talk about easily. If you are from the older generation, you likely don't mention the word at all because it is taboo. If you are younger, you may throw the word period around easily enough, but we still don't talk about pads, tampons, and other hygiene items for a woman's monthly period. 

I live in a country where women, naturally, make up a significant portion of the population. It is also a country that is experiencing a significant economic crisis. While a number of items are subsidized, pads are not. Yet they are more essential to daily life and health than coffee creamer, bug repellent, or sugar which are considered crucial and on the list of subsidies. 

I am one of the lucky ones. I have a decent salary, enough to afford the 19,958 every month or even splurge on an extra packet if I want to have both overnight and daily options. But what about the woman who begs on the street, a small child sitting on her lap while two more huddle beside her? What about the woman who earns a meagre pittance of a wage as a domestic helper? What about the single mother who is struggling to put food on the table and put her children in school? What about the refugee who is living in a two-room dump of a place, or a tent in a refugee camp, battling the elements to survive? They are just trying to find money to buy a bag of bread; how will they ever manage to buy a package of pads? 

We do not have a choice about whether we bleed. Don't make us choose whether we live in comfort and peace of mind, or put food on the table for our children or take care of our ailing parents. All life comes from the woman--she nourishes the child inside her and continues the cycle of life. Don't make us feel ashamed of what makes us a woman.