In Vanuatu with CARE, Kelsey Garlick
talks about periods, education and why
women supporting other women needs
to extend beyond our bordersWE NEED TO
TALK ABOUT
PERIOD
SOLIDARITY
OK, I ADMIT IT, I’m bizarrely
passionate about periods. I talk about
mine incessantly; I angrily complain
about tampons being taxed; I even
wear tampon earrings at that time
of the month. I started donating pads
to local shelters when I realised that
homeless Australian women couldn’t
access them. But for all that, I admit
I never thought far beyond my own
coastline. Which is why I was shocked
when I read that just a few hours away,
girls in Vanuatu routinely miss school
during their periods – not because
they don’t want an education, but
because of a lack of basic hygiene and
understanding about their bodies.
These girls – these future women- miss out on months of education
every single year.
Worldwide, there are currently
31 million girls out of primary school
and 34 adolescent women out of high
school, according to UNESCO’s 2012
Education for All Global Monitoring
Report. If you don’t think that matters,
just think of all you learn at school,
just by being there. You learn how to
voice your opinions, how to negotiate,
how to maintain healthy relationships
The pads are
designed to be
inconspicuous –
they could easily
be mistaken for
hankies!Kelsey meets
the hardworking
Mamma’s Laef
ladies.14 COSMOPOLITAN.com.au TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 136 116