With period poverty on the rise and approximately 1.8 billion people menstruating every month globally, this USask club aims to advocate for equity and educate the community on menstrual health. 

The USask Menstrual Project is a campus group committed to raising awareness surrounding menstrual health and advocating for menstrual equity. While menstruating is a normal, physiological process, accessibility, dignity, and equity are often lacking for menstruators. 

The club’s executive team includes President Sharon Jacob, Vice-President Emily Hubick, Marketing Director  Sareena Basra, Secretaries Saphia Bedi and Shivneet Mann, Treasurer Zoha Sabir and Outreach Director Sophia Abiara. The club consists of 15 members, including executives, general members, and representatives. 

Jacob is a first-year medical student who has been with the club since 2021. She says, “Menstrual health is something that everyone should be knowledgeable about because it isn’t just a women’s issue. Every single person knows a person who is a menstruator, and there should not be hesitation to speak about a natural bodily function.”

Jacob highlights the club’s role in helping establish the USask Period Equity Project as one of the club’s biggest accomplishments. Period poverty refers to a lack of access to menstrual health education, menstrual products, and hygiene facilities. Menstruators face many barriers to these essentials because of social attitudes toward menstruation and financial obstacles. One in six Canadians who menstruate has experienced period poverty. 

Through the Period Equity Project, free menstrual hygiene supplies are now available in bathrooms across campus to all members of the USask community. Jacob says seeing this change on campus has been encouraging “because we saw how in real time our advocacy leads to tangible results.”

Alongside advocacy, the USask Menstrual Project hosts many events to bring the community together to educate and raise funds for menstrual health. This past year, the club has hosted movie and documentary nights,  a multi-day bake sale to raise funds for various projects, and partnered with Gender Representation in Medicine and Surgery to collect menstrual products for donation to their menstrual product drive. 

The USask Menstrual Project collaborated with Moon Time Connections, a national Indigenous-led period equity group founded in Saskatchewan, for its annual period product drive. Jacob says that the packing parties have been eye-opening experiences. “We are able to distribute menstrual products, such as pads, underwear, menstrual cups, and gender-inclusive products, around our province of Saskatchewan. (…) To physically package boxes and then [see] the boxes stack up and get shipped off is an encouraging process.” 

The club also launched a new initiative on their social media page recommending accessible media to help people better understand menstruation and period poverty. To access these resources and learn more about their events follow the USask Menstrual Project on social media at @usaskmenstrualproject. 

International Women’s Day is one of the largest events that the club organizes. On March 5, the club hosted an evening at Louis’ Pub filled with speakers, games, and food in celebration of  International Women’s Day. This year, the club received four pairs of Sparkle Ball earrings from Hillberg & Berk for game prizes and sustainable flower bouquets by Florals by Shai, a local business. “It’s heartwarming to see our reach grow each year,” Jacob says,  

One of Jacob’s favourite memories with the club is creating and distributing pins with their logo. She says, “It is a little item that people can place on their backpacks or pieces of clothes to show their support.”

As Jacob ends her term as president, she is proud of the club’s accomplishments and hopeful for its future. She says, “As a club, we haven’t just stuck to advocacy or just raising money for different causes, we have diversified our portfolio and also focused on education and marketing to get the most outreach possible.” Reflecting with gratitude towards her team, she adds, “I have the best team. I am so grateful that I get to learn from my team and have the opportunity to lead them.”  

Jacob encourages others to challenge menstrual stigma. “I encourage everyone to push the fold of these conversations, get involved, and educate yourself.”