Dominika Kulczyk gave a speech during the 14th Congress of Women, which was held in Wrocław. The president of the Kulczyk Foundation announced the creation of the first Polish civic bill to combat poverty and menstrual exclusion in Polish schools. The Periodic Coalition, an association of organizations and experts dealing with the normalization of the theme of menstruation, is working on the project. Dominika Kulczyk, a member of the Periodic Coalition, announced that it would collect 100,000 signatures and submit it to the parliament of Poland in the form of a civic legislative initiative.
Contrary to common stereotypes, poverty and menstrual exclusion also occur in Poland and largely concern girls. This is confirmed by the Kulczyk Foundation research from 2020. It shows that over half of Polish teenagers skipped classes at school at least once because of their period. One-third of them are not prepared for the onset of their first period. Every fifth young girl in Poland had to miss school due to a lack of menstrual hygiene products.
- We want to fight this problem. And we want to start with the basics. Provide every young woman in Poland with menstrual products. Eliminate the feeling of shame. Convincing that the wealth of the wallet does not prove who we are. Help you regain your confidence. Do not allow interruptions in education that will affect your future life. Give all girls in this country equal chances. Teach them to use the features that give us, women, real strength - said Dominika Kulczyk, a member of the Periodic Coalition.
The act is to introduce free access to menstrual supplies and education on menstrual health in all Polish schools. The Periodic Coalition appealed to all circles favorable to women to support the project. The campaign to collect signatures for the civic legislative initiative is to start next year.
- We invite the Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood, the Congress of Women, the Women's Strike, the Federation, and the Democracy Action to join us. Any organization. Every activist. Every journalist. Each and every one of you who, like us, feels the need to solve the problem of poverty and menstrual exclusion in Poland. Regardless of political sympathies, profession, religion, age, and place of residence. If you support women and want their good at every possible level, support us - added the President of Kulczyk Foundation.
Scotland, New Zealand, France and England, where such laws and programmes already exist, are a model for the Periodic Coalition that develops the provisions of the law. The decision to draft the bill was made after the Coalition meetings in the Polish Sejm and Senate, where activists presented the most important data on poverty and menstrual exclusion.
The authors of the legislative initiative appeal to all those willing to support it. For this purpose, a website and e-mail address dedicated to the law will be created for everyone. For now, all people interested in support can apply to the Kulczyk Foundation and the Periodic Coalition.
- Join us. Write an e-mail, call us, subscribe to our list. We are waiting for you. We will need your support, huge one. But every signature we receive will be worth its weight in gold. Let's fight together for the hearts and minds of Polish women and Poles who, apart from all current problems, would like to change at least a fragment of our reality for the better. Change it forever - argued Dominika Kulczyk during the Congress of Women.
The Periodic Coalition:
Akcja Menstruacja, prof. dr hab. Iwona Chmura-Rutkowska, UAM, Fundacja Ja, Nauczyciel, dr n. hum Alicja Długołęcka, Fundacja im. Julii Woykowskiej, Fundacja One Day, Fundacja Pokonać Endometriozę, Grupa Ponton, Jak Wychowywać Dziewczynki, Kulczyk Foundation, Natalia Miłuńska - miesiaczka.com, moonka, Pani Miesiączka, Polski Czerwony Krzyż, Projekt Masterki, Różowa Skrzyneczka, Stowarzyszenie Pogotowie Społeczne, Szajn
