"Growing up, Bushra Mahnoor dreaded getting her period. It meant shame, stigma and, often, missing school. As an adolescent in Pakistan with four sisters, she says there were never enough period supplies in her home. They'd ration pads regularly using ones designed for eight hours for well over 24 hours and sometimes they had to use a rag or a spare cloth that could easily leak."
"According to a report from UNICEF, published in 2025, only about one in 10 girls and women in Pakistan use commercially manufactured products. "When I knew I might not have a pad and I had to rely on a cloth, those were the times I could not even imagine going to the school," Mahnoor recalls, who is now 25."
"Now Mahnoor is trying to change the reality for girls in Pakistan. She's the executive director at Mahwari Justice, a nonprofit in Pakistan that advocates for menstrual health. In September 2025, she filed a lawsuit aimed at reclassifying menstrual products from luxury products to essential goods. The goal is to eliminate the taxes placed on the products which she hopes will lower prices to make sanitary items more affordable."
Bushra Mahnoor experienced shame, stigma and frequent school absences during menstruation because her family could not afford adequate supplies. Families rationed pads and sometimes relied on rags or spare cloths that could leak. A UNICEF 2025 report found only about one in ten girls and women in Pakistan use commercially manufactured menstrual products. Mahnoor recalled avoiding school to escape humiliation and policing of stains. She became executive director of Mahwari Justice and filed a September 2025 lawsuit to reclassify menstrual products from luxury to essential goods to eliminate taxes and reduce prices. A public health expert noted that access to menstrual products is a widespread issue.
Read at www.npr.org
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