Hello, Qraters!
Menstruation is a natural biological process experienced by half of the world’s population, yet it remains a topic shrouded in stigma and shame. Educating young girls about menstruation is essential so they can understand their bodies and manage their menstrual cycles confidently.
On the 19th and 20th of April, Qrate hosted a menstruation workshop for the 120 girl learners from Leap Sciences and Maths School in Diepsloot and Linbro Park. In collaboration with the Leap Institute’s Learning and Living Labs Leader, Neliswa Nyandeni, our facilitators Candice, Felicia, and Selo hosted an impactful two-day workshop that covered a wide range of topics, including the biology of menstruation, menstrual health practices, menstrual products, and the emotional and mental aspects of menstruation.
Qrate facilitated an interactive workshop that engaged the participants in empowering activities to learn more about their bodies and periods while leading critical discussions on the impact of period stigma in society. The workshop held a safe space for our participants to express themselves freely through dance, singing, sharing their experiences, and asking questions about all things periods.
The two-day workshop was packed with fun activities that promote the engagement and participation of the students. The #KnowYourFlo session kickstarted with energizing icebreakers to encourage the students to feel encouraged to participate.
Our workshop also used visual learning as a way in which participants could learn more about periods. During our workshop, we showed an animated short video introducing periods and a short movie called “First Period”. The “First Period” was a powerful visual experience because it showed the participants a period-positive world that contrasts the lived realities of the period stigma millions of menstruators continue to face today. This video highlighted to the participants that creating a period-positive world is possible if we break the period stigma within ourselves, communities, and governance structures.
At Qrate, we aim to transfer period experiences and knowledge through our true and false quizzes, period myths game, and our what would you do game.
- True and False Game: Our participants took part in a quick-fire True or False quiz that questioned participants about the quick facts about periods and period statistics. The true or false quiz highlighted the sheer magnitude of the menstrual inequality world concerning mainstreaming access to period products, menstrual health, and menstrual education.
- Alien Game: The Alien game was not just about learning about the applications of the various menstrual products but also a research activity where the students got to dig deep to understand what type of materials are used to manufacture the different menstrual products. This menstrual product research got the participants thinking about the impact of certain period products on our environment and planet.
The workshop closed with the participants taking their period pledge, vowing to talk openly about periods so they are part of the change in breaking the chain of stigma towards periods. The students each received period products from our period partners: The Pad Princess and Komani Pads.
We’d like to thank the Leap Institute for inviting Qrate to host the #KnowYourFlo Period Workshops! We’re excited for delivering our workshops to the other Leap Schools in South Africa as part of our ongoing #PeriodPositiveTour.
To invite Qrate to your school or organisation, reach out to the Qrate team on: info@qrate.org.za.