I have met hundreds of girls who dropped out of school. When I ask why, they rarely say “periods.” They say “stomach pain” or “I felt sick” or “I couldn’t sit properly.” But I have learned to listen between the words.

The truth is menstruation steals years from girls’ lives.

What the data doesn’t fully capture:

According to UNESCO, one in ten girls in India misses school during her period. But my ground experience tells me the number is much higher in rural areas. I have visited schools where girls sit on newspaper because there are no sanitary pads. I have seen shared washrooms with no doors, no water, and no privacy to change.

And then we wonder why girls fall behind.

A story I will never forget:

Two years ago, a 14-year-old named Kavita came to a The Girl Foundation workshop. She was brilliant – top of her class, sharp questions, fierce eyes. Three months later, she stopped coming. When I visited her home, her mother told me: “She cannot afford pads. She uses rags. The rags give her infection. The infection makes her miss a week every month. Her teacher called her lazy. She stopped going.”

We provided Kavita with reusable pads, a hygiene kit, and spoke to her teacher. She is back in school now. But how many Kavitas never return?

What I am doing about it:

The Girl Foundation now runs a Menstrual Health and Dignity program across 112 schools. We provide:

• Free reusable sanitary pads to 5,000+ girls annually
• Menstrual health education for both girls AND boys (because stigma is maintained by everyone)
• Teacher training on how to support menstruating students without shame
• School washroom audits with student-led committees

What I want you to know:

Period poverty is not a “women’s problem” to be solved quietly in a corner. It is an economic issue, an education issue, and a human rights issue.

A girl who cannot afford a pad is not less capable. She is less supported. And that is our failure, not hers.

I have stopped using the word “empowerment” loosely. Real empowerment means a girl can bleed without bleeding out of her education. That is the bar. And we are not there yet.