The Pad Project
“Period. End of Sentence” is a powerful documentary made by the women who created “The Pad Project.” It illustrates how women have so much creativity, passion, and potential. In many parts of the world girls and women do not have access to pads which often leads to them not going to school. The film focuses on the girls and women in the village of Kathikhera in India. When supported with helpful resources, in this case the machine that makes pads, the women are able to “fly” which is what they name their pad company. In the trailer, they share, “while the women earn their money, help their families, and lift their communities, girls learn that periods are nothing to be ashamed of. And education can give girls the tools they need to pursue their dreams.” We see the women in the village come together in community to support and empower themselves. Then, they bring the resources to other villages of women so that everyone can have access to pads. The women were able to create their own pads which enabled them to have more freedom and girls were able to go to school.
What was also special about the project was that as well as having the physical resources of the machine and pads, there was a focus on supporting emotional wellbeing. The villages created women’s circles and communities where they could talk about menstruation openly in a safe space with only women, in order to feel supported and break the taboo in their culture around periods. It reminds me of the red tent which is a space for women to be during menstruation that has been around for centuries. We don’t have enough safe spaces for women to talk about menstruation, especially menarche which is a coming of age moment for girls. This is incredibly important and I would love to see more conversations around it, which is why this documentary is so valuable.
Watch “Period. End of Sentence” on Netflix and Youtube. Read more about “The Pad Project” at thepadproject.org
Image from Period. End of Sentence directed by Rayka Zehtabchi.