– PERIOD. –

PERIOD.project is a visual advocacy initiative that empowers girls to speak openly about menstruation, using creative storytelling and education to challenge stigma and protect their right to learn.

Growing up in the Netherlands made me believe that sanitary pads are simply part of everyday life. When I moved to Cape Town, I discovered that many girls in South Africa miss school because they cannot afford menstrual products. Pads are not a luxury — they are essential. Just as we need water, food, and shelter, teenage girls also need pads to participate fully in education and society. Without them, too many lose days of learning, which means fewer opportunities for the future.

This project exists to change that. Menstruation is natural, yet silence and stigma still prevent girls from feeling safe in their own bodies. PERIOD.project uses photography and creative workshops to turn this taboo into a public conversation. It asks: what happens when we stop hiding menstruation and start treating it as part of human dignity?

The heart of the work is collaboration. Together with motivational speaker Busi Jama and learners from Bulumko High School in Khayelitsha, we created safe spaces where girls could share their experiences and transform menstrual products into art. Crowns, headbands, and necklaces became symbols of strength and creativity. In this workshop, girls laughed, spoke honestly, and saw themselves represented in ways that felt empowering.

By centering girls’ voices, PERIOD.project highlights how period poverty interrupts education and dignity — and how creative engagement can shift the narrative. The goal is not only awareness, but change: to normalize menstruation in schools, to demand access to pads for every girl, and to show that dignity and education are inseparable.

Pads mean education. Education means opportunity. Opportunity means growth. Support this movement and help ensure that every girl has the chance to thrive.

Join the community. Support them now. #freeperiod