Initiatives
Alongside partners in 9 countries, Fòs Feminista challenges menstrual stigma and ensures access to essential products—so women and girls can live with dignity, equality, and opportunity.
Fòs Feminista is leading a cross-movement, global initiative to ensure menstrual health and dignity through feminist, inclusive, and intersectional strategies.
Launched in 2024 and active across nine countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, the Sang Pour Sang initiative unites nearly 100 local partners to confront menstrual discrimination, lift up the voices of those most excluded, and push for laws and policies that protect their rights.
We are reshaping social attitudes that perpetuate inequality and creating changes that are durable and rooted in community power through:
In 2024, Fòs Feminista carried out baseline research in nine project countries to understand how menstrual discrimination shapes the daily lives of women, girls, and gender-diverse people. Here’s what responses from more than 8,000 people revealed:
93%
of women and girls who menstruate reported experiencing menstrual discrimination
This included restrictions on daily activities during their periods and teasing linked to menstruation.
1 in 2
men and boys surveyed across all countries witnessed menstrual discrimination
They could be key allies, yet only 8% intervened when they saw it happen.
87%
of women and others who menstruate reported that their preferred menstrual product is not accessible or affordable
“Period poverty”—the lack of affordable menstrual products—keeps many from fully participating in school, work, and society.
A world that welcomes and respects menstruation is a world without taboos, without shame, without bullying – but a world with support, access to water, and products!Bénédicta K.M.-T. Aloakinnou
Benin
We want every woman and girl to experience menstruation with dignity and without barriers. Here’s how we make that possible:
Menstrual cups, pads, and other essentials allow girls and women to stay in school and take part fully in society. By connecting feminist civil society organizations with social enterprises, we ensure these products reach the women and girls who need them most.
Menstrual health and dignity are central to gender equality, public health, and human rights – a position we are advancing in global and regional advocacy forums, pushing governments and institutions to adopt policies that protect dignity.
Addressing discrimination means changing harmful beliefs, attitudes and stories told about menstruation. Through our regional Communications Labs, we equip local partners to shape narratives, run advocacy campaigns and raise awareness for menstrual dignity. Global campaigns amplify this work, challenging stigma and transforming attitudes.
We bring together feminist organizations, youth groups, disability rights advocates, and community leaders to advance menstrual dignity. Through broader feminist networks and shared strategies, we strengthen solidarity and build collective power for change that endures.
We collect evidence to understand menstrual discrimination and strengthen policies and practices. Through baseline surveys and policy reviews in nine countries, we ground our advocacy and programs in the real, lived experiences of women and girls.
Menstrual dignity in laws, classrooms, and lives.
In Nigeria, Fòs Feminista partner EVA led a coordinated advocacy effort with other Fòs partners to push for the country’s first national policy, which was approved in August 2025. The policy treats menstrual health as an issue of dignity, equity, and rights.
In the Philippines, partner PANTAY secured a commitment from a national high school to integrate menstrual health and rights into its programming. PANTAY also created the training materials to make this change real in schools and communities.
Through an Instagram Live series, Fòs Feminista and partners from Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines explored how menstrual dignity connects with disability, aging, and LGBTQI+ inclusion—expanding the conversation worldwide.
