Intersections between period poverty in South Asia
This paper examines period poverty in South Asia as a systemic human rights violation shaped by the intersection of religion, patriarchy, and structural violence. Drawing on feminist theory, religious analysis, and Johan Galtung’s framework of cultural, structural, and direct violence, the paper argues that menstrual stigma is not an isolated cultural practice but part of a broader system that normalizes the dehumanization of women and girls. Through case studies from India and Pakistan, including honor killings, female infanticide, and menstrual exclusion practices such as Chhaupadi, the paper shows how religious texts are frequently misinterpreted or culturally manipulated to justify gendered control. The analysis is grounded in firsthand fieldwork conducted in South Asian schools, where interviews and workshops revealed how menstrual stigma directly limits girls’ education, confidence, and autonomy. Ultimately, the paper positions menstrual equity as inseparable from global health and human rights, arguing that addressing period poverty requires not only access to products but also cultural, educational, and policy-level change.