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Hopkins is Sick of the Tampon Tax–PERIOD.

Anushree Vashist '21 News Editor Sophia Neilson '23 Staff Writer
Do you know that in 38 states women have to pay a tax known as the “Tampon Tax” on feminine hygiene products?
Do you know that many women don’t have access to these products at all? As PERIOD.: The Menstrual Movement, confronts the lack of access to feminine products across the country, Lizabeth Bamgboye ’20 is working to bring local change.

Twenty-one-year old Harvard student Nadya Okamoto started the organization when she was 16 years old. PERIOD. is particularly focused on the Tampon Tax as well as the general lack of access to sanitary goods for women across the globe. This year PERIOD hosted 60 rallies in every state and four nations, for an unprecedented National Period Day on October 19, 2019.

After hearing about the event through Instagram, Bamgboye acted as the logistics coordinator for the Connecticut Rally. She was responsible for tasks such
as securing permits and acquiring needed equipment. Bamgboye was also responsible for weekly conference calls with founder Nadya Okamoto. The organization is youth-run, with little adult oversight. This taught the volunteers a lot about “how to communicate with adults and bureaucracy, and being [their] own representatives” said Liz.

Activ ists, legislators, performers, and students such as Rehab Senanu ’20 also participated in the New Haven Rally. After Bamgboye reached out to her, Senanu got involved so that she could “sing [her] heart out for the protest.” She sang “Four Women” by Nina Simone, “an homage to different colored woman who had gone through tough events in their life.” She added that “the last persona in the song, Peaches, really tied everything together and emphasized the point that yeah I have been through tough things but I’m still here strong, and present and nothing is going to take the confidence away from me.” Senanu called her experience “amazing,” adding, “it was the first time that I sang at an event that was not school-related. It was a new environment but [everyone was] so welcoming. As I progressed through the song the more comfortable I felt.”

As Bamgboye continues her activism, she hopes to “destigmatize” and “raise awareness” about period poverty and other women’s issues. She already has "a lot of conversation,” especially through the period.ct social media page that allows the movement to “engage with the community” by spreading awareness and encouraging people to be “more open to [talking] about [period poverty].” On The Hill, she hopes to “pop the bubble” by working with student clubs SHOUTTE (Screen Host Outreach to Understand and Talk about Trafficking and Education) and ERRO (Equal Rights, Respect, and Opportunities) and by initiating conversations on lack of access to feminine products and other women’s issues.


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