Malaysian girl gets help from a woman to buy sanitary pads
It is undeniable that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the livelihoods of Malaysians in many ways. Among the rising problems that we see, period poverty – the limited access to sanitary products because of the lack of funds – has become a pressing issue in modern society, especially in the city. Stories of urbanites affected by period poverty are beginning to be made known to the public such as this case of a 12-year-old girl who was helped by a woman to buy sanitary pads.
12-year-old girl and her struggle with period poverty
Image credit: @thaarshny
The story of a 12-year-old Malaysian girl who couldn’t afford to buy sanitary pads was shared on Twitter by Thaarshny (@thaarshny) on 22nd August 2021.
In the viral tweet, she mentioned how she helped a Malay girl who was standing outside a 99 Speedmart, looking completely lost, when she was trying to get some stuff from the store. Thaarshny wrote that she saw the girl waiting outside the shop for quite a while even after she managed to get her necessities and was about to leave.
Curious to find out more, Thaarshny said that she went up to the girl to ask if she was doing okay, to which the girl opened up and said that she’s having her period but she couldn’t afford to buy a sanitary pad due to insufficient money.
Speaking to The Smart Local Malaysia, Thaarshny said, “I was horrified when the girl told me that she was having her period and didn’t have enough money to buy a sanitary pad. I didn’t even question her and told her to wait while I rushed to get the item.
“When I got and pass it to her, I asked where she lived and other questions. I saw her crying while she was answering my questions, which was totally awful. I couldn’t put it into words. I tried to calm her by giving her the chocolates which I had bought for myself.”
A man trying to buy sanitary pads from a local supermarket (Image for illustration purposes only)
Image credit: @broojambang
She also shared that upon receiving the sanitary pads the girl cried because she was in terrible pain and her grandmother whom she lives with couldn’t afford to buy them for her as they were short on cash. Concerned by the incident, Thaarshny said she wanted to help the family, however, according to the grandmother, the girl’s family is doing okay as they do receive help from a lot of other people.
Since her posting, Thaarshny’s tweet has garnered over 12,000 likes and more than 8,000 retweets from Malaysians who thanked her for helping the girl but also urging the government to look into the bigger picture – period poverty, a serious issue being faced by many women and young girls in modern society.
Thaarshny also told The Smart Local Malaysia that she had no idea that her tweet would go viral. “I didn’t expect it to happen, but I’m glad it did. I’m not sure what the government will do about the period poverty issue, but I believe that as a member of the public, we should be aware of it.”
Thaarshny also suggested that we should contribute sanitary pads to food banks, since it’s also a necessity.
Helping a 12-year-old girl to buy sanitary pads
Kudos to Thaarshny for her willingness and kindness to help out this Malaysian girl who struggled to buy sanitary pads. Period poverty is indeed a real issue that affects a lot of women and young girls in our country. So, we hope more Malaysians can come forth to offer assistance of any sort to those who are struggling to buy essential items such as sanitary pads.
Read more here:
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Cover image adapted from: sobri and @DSKhairuddin (Image for illustration purposes only)