The sisters from Vicksburg, Mississippi, launched their grassroots organization in 2021 to raise awareness about period poverty and provide menstrual care packages to those in need. The idea first came about after Asia, now 21, and Laila, 17, became ambassadors for The Pad Project, a nonprofit that aims to end period stigma by installing pad machines, implementing washable pad programs, and hosting menstrual hygiene management workshops with the help of partner organizations across the globe. “Menstrual equity is something that was never talked about in our hometown,” says Asia, a senior majoring in Comparative Women’s Studies at Spelman College in Atlanta. “It’s an issue a lot of people don’t think or care about, because it typically affects people other than cisgender men — plus, people tend to downplay women’s experiences,” adds Laila. “And as a young Black woman, it’s important to me to make sure that marginalized voices in the menstrual equity space are being heard.”
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