Tackling Period Poverty with the Pachamama Project

Our CEO, Helen Bingley, recently had the opportunity to shed light on the Abaseen Foundation’s incredible efforts in combating period poverty in Pakistan. Helen was invited to speak at an online event organised by the Pachamama Project – a charity which provides period pads to refugees worldwide.

The event, entitled 'Raise A Glass', took place on August 14th, and was a celebration of a remarkable milestone – the production of 100,000 sanitary pads by the Pachamama Project. Abaseen Foundation is proud to have partnered with this incredible organisation, and Helen had the honour of sharing how the project's reusable period pads are making a vital difference to the lives of women and adolescent girls in Pakistan.

A Collective Effort

Helen was not alone in her presentation; she shared the virtual stage with representatives from other groups that are working with the Pachamama Project to combat period poverty, including The Free Shop in Lebanon, Food Justice in the USA, and Pass It On Trust in Uganda. Together, they demonstrated collective solidarity in the face of this looming challenge.

The Pachamama Project itself is remarkable. Established in 2020, this volunteer-run not-for-profit has evolved into a global network of thousands of volunteers, passionately sewing reusable sanitary pads for refugees the world over. Their mission: to combat period poverty in refugee crises and ensure that having a period is not yet another challenge for these vulnerable people.

Period Poverty in Pakistan

Menstrual hygiene is a significant concern for both women and adolescent girls in Pakistan, where there is often limited access to sanitary products, and poor water/hygiene facilities. As a consequence, girls miss an average of 4-5 days of school each month, significantly affecting their educational attainment. Dire circumstances can lead girls and women to resort to using old clothes, rags or socks in place of adequate sanitary products, exposing themselves to infection and severe health issues. The distress and embarrassment experienced by these girls and women is profoundly detrimental to their mental health.

Wellbeing of Women project

Abaseen Foundation is actively working to alleviate these challenges through our Wellbieng of Women (WoW) project, which aims to improve the health of women and girls.

The project involves menstrual hygiene training for girls in Abaseen Foundation schools, along with the distribution of reusable Patchamama sanitary pads within the community. Each sanitary pack distributed by Abaseen Foundation contains five pads, designed to last a woman or girl for up to five years.

In the traditionally conservative areas of northwestern Pakistan where we operate, women's hygiene is not a commonly discussed topic. However, our distribution of Pachamama pads has received an overwhelmingly positive response. The need was so evident that we began including knickers in all our Pachamama packs, responding directly to the community's requirements.

Creating Long-Lasting Change

Our ultimate goal is to make this programme self-sustaining. The shipping of these pads to the remote regions of Pakistan is expensive – requiring generous donations – hence we are working on setting up a vocational training scheme affiliated with the new Abaseen Foundation Degree College. This scheme will give women and young girls the know-how and resources to produce these pads for themselves, enabling them to establish their own community-focused enterprises.

All of our efforts are supported by rigorous reporting and monitoring by the University of Central Lancashire and the Khyber Medical Centre in Peshawar, ensuring that we continue to learn and improve, with the hope that others may replicate our model.

Our commitment to tackling period poverty is not just about providing sanitary products; it's about giving women and girls the dignity and opportunities they deserve. We're committed to breaking the stigma of period poverty, ensuring that no woman or girl is left to face this challenge alone. With your support, we can continue to make a difference, one pad at a time.