Two university students leading the struggle for period relief amid devastating floods

Anum Khalid and Bushra Mahnoor are two university students who decided to work for the lesser talked-about but an essential topic of period relief, specifically after over 1.6 million women of reproductive age were affected by the devastating floods in the country in the last 3-4 months. 

The two students, from Multan and Attock, have collected over Rs9.5 million in donations and have distributed period relief kits among at least 70,000 flood-affected women. 

Bushra Mahnoor says that she conceived the idea of period relief when she visited a flood-affected area of Balochistan in 2010 and saw a young girl her age – menstruating.

“When Balochistan was hit by flood back in July, the first thought that came to my mind was how many young girls will go through their first periods in the flood camps,” said Mahnoor. 

Anum Khalid said they are not advocating for period relief exclusively; but for shelter, clean water, food, and period relief. 

Mahwari Justice started by asking ration donors to include their period relief kits in the ration bags that were distributed among flood-affected people, she added. 

“The calamity is not over yet, as the post-disaster impacts are much more severe than the calamity itself,” said Anum. 

Marwari Justice has held distribution drives in flood-affected areas of Sindh, Balochistan Southern Punjab. They held their latest packaging drive in Karachi, where volunteers helped them pack over 600 relief kits. 

“A period relief kit includes a menstruation pad, soap, and underwear,” told Bushra. 

Also Read: Pregnant woman, baby die in flood-hit Khairpur

Any natural disaster has a double impact on women as they are an already marginalized section of society, Anum Khalid said.

For more stories and documentaries subscribe ARY STORIES.