Rally, Educate, Advocate
As Days For Girls' U.S. Advocacy Volunteer Coordinator, I am passionate about lending my voice in the fight for menstrual equity. Over the past year, I helped champion the U.S. menstrual movement in a number of ways — like rallying to eliminate the tampon tax, educating my community about menstrual health, and advocating for more supportive state-led policies. I am honored to be a part of this important work, and cannot wait to see where my journey takes me from here.
Rally. Last fall, DfG mobilizers joined rallies across the country to push for the elimination of taxes on menstrual health products, otherwise known as the tampon tax. I helped coordinate their participation in the event, in addition to joining my own state rally.
During the rallies, we had an opportunity to hear people testify about the impact of having limited and/or no access to menstrual health products, and to hear from other organizations active in the movement. The rallies were a powerful vessel for advocates and organizations to come together, raise our collective voice and spread awareness about menstrual health (in)equity in the United States.
Educate. Education is key to sparking social change. Sometimes, this means sharing our own personal stories and lived experiences; other times, it's about keeping ourselves informed by listening to as many diverse perspectives and voices as possible. I practice self-education by reading about current events, listening to podcasts, watching videos and maintaining an ongoing dialogue with family, friends and colleagues about menstrual health issues. Only through continual education and maintaining a deep, nuanced understanding of the menstrual movement can we to pursue our advocacy goals and an equal future.
Advocate. At Days For Girls, a big part of my role is helping leadership prepare and develop our state-level advocacy strategy. For this, I assisted with the creation of our new DfGI Advocacy and Policy webpage, which spotlights past advocacy achievements and the work we are now pursuing. I am also in the process of reviewing current U.S. policies, identifying opportunities to increase menstrual health access in our prisons, schools and communities, and preparing to activate DfG Mobilizers once a plan is in place. By advocating for more supportive policies, we are taking a critical step in in the fight for equality and lasting change.
Rally, educate, advocate. That's how I use my voice for our equal future.
