1.4 Let's Talk Period: Overcoming Stigmas + Shame to End Period Poverty | G+T Conversations

Welcome to G+T Conversations, the ultimate global lifestyle podcast! We are your hosts, Gwenda + Tatjana, and in this episode, we speak about all things periods.

Follow G+T Conversations on Instagram ⁠⁠@GTconversations⁠⁠ and join the conversation.

Some of the things we mentioned in this episode

Favorites of the Week:

• Tatjana: (1) Alexis Hall's new Book: “10 Things That Never Happened” and (2) the fact that Swiggy is selling sarees and cricket jerseys now.
• Gwenda: (1) She bought herself flowers and (2) She loved the National Day Celebrations by the Spanish Consulate in Mumbai.

Goal of the Week:

• Tatjana: Complete 2 of her October goals
• Gwenda: Book solo-date at a cafe (without phone and other distractions) to finish her reading goal for October

Periods:

• Around 2 billion people worldwide menstruate.
• 71% of girls in India don't know about periods when they get it for the first time.
• 60% of girls and 70% of boys in Germany find periods shameful and embarrassing to talk about.
• 70% of mothers in India consider menstruation 'dirty'.
• 1 out of 5 girls in India quits school every year due to lack of access to good quality period products.
• Read sources for the above data here and here.
• Germany removed luxury tax on period products (now taxed as non-luxury product at 7%) in 2020. Read more.
• India removed GST on sale of period products in 2018. Read more.
• Spain passed a law that gives workers the right to paid menstruation leave. Read more.

In today's episode we introduce you to: Goonj, an Indian NGO that collects urban surplus material to help the financially and materially poor in designing and implementing their own solutions. Their program NJPC (Not Just a Piece of Cloth) works on breaking the culture of shame and silence around menstruation by addressing the key issues around menstrual health: Awareness, Access, and Affordability. https://goonj.org/njpc/.

Follow G+T Conversations on Instagram ⁠⁠@GTconversations⁠⁠

You can also connect with us on our personal accounts at ⁠⁠@gwendaschobert⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠@craving_expat_life⁠⁠. Tune in every Friday for a new episode.

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