This Documentary Will Change the Way We Think About Period Product Access
This half hour documentary short Oscar winner reveals the lack of period product access to period products women in poor community’s endure.
A still image from ‘Period. End of Sentence’ / Courtesy of Netflix
Living in a first world country in the 21st century, it is extremely easy to take everyday items and privileges for granted. Whether it’s a hot shower on a cold night, or the ease of driving myself from one place to the next with my car, it becomes common to overlook how lucky we can be with what we’re given. Further, some of the most important privileges we can ignore are basic everyday hygiene products. Toothpaste and shampoo are items used when needed and thrown away when they’re done, without ever being thought of again. Same goes for period products. Small wrapped pieces of cloth that are sacred for a few days and then find their forever home in the trash can. But, how do people deal without them?
Some are not aware in numerous places within 1st world countries and in developing ones, women and young girls don’t have access to proper period products. It’s hard to imagine not being able to purchase or even have nearby simple items that are so necessary for women around the world. How is it that in this day and age, women are still suffering from lack of period product access and told to be shameful of such a natural process? This injustice is something the recent Netflix documentary, Period. End of Sentence tackles with hope and the brutal truth.
This film takes place in a rural village right outside of Delhi, India, and highlights the stories of multiple women and girls who live with a lack of period access. The film shows how these women know very little of what a period is, and some believe it’s a disease only given to women. Some also say they left school once they started their period and haven’t returned since.
Additionally, young men appear in interviews and reveal they know little to nothing about periods and even confuse it with class periods in school. The women’s way of surviving their period is by using makeshift pads out of cloth and reusing them until they later toss them in a pile outside with other disposed clothes. Some even end up reusing the pieces of cloth since they’re left with no other option for how to treat the bleeding. This documentary shows this system is not only unsanitary, but sexist and discriminatory.
As sad as the situation the women in this area have to deal with, the film also shows hope and promise for the future. When they come across a newly invented pad making machine, they realize they’re able to use it to produce their very own sanitary pads; and sell them to others. As more women get recruited to work with the machine and make pads, they learn new manufacturing skills and work in a team to produce the product. They then sell them to local stores and households and begin to earn money. This allowed the women to begin to be rewarded for their hard work and feel more independent and empowered about their lives.
Not only did this new system uplift the women making the pads, but inspired their customers to not feel ashamed of their period and instead be happy they now have access to the proper sanitary products. The businesses and demand was growing as word got out of the period products.
“If they require more people to work on the pad machine, then we would want to work there”
My favorite part about this film is how it manages to show how women were experiencing an injustice, and then decided to take matters into their own hands. Since the local government and society they found themselves living in didn’t offer them the feminine products they needed, they resorted to making their own. By taking initiative, the women provided themselves with employment, pads, and were supporting themselves and their families. The innovative pad machine helped the women transform their lives and find work while improving their local economy. While this documentary is on the shorter end, it manages to tell an inspiring story that simultaneously educates the audience on injustices in other parts of the world. By watching this, it open my eyes to the problem not only happening in that small village, but it instilled a curiosity to find out what other places were also lacking period products for women.
A film like this that plants new information in audience’s minds is so important because it brings attention to a problem many are unaware of. After watching this film, I feel more informed and knowledgeable about the lack of period product access in other parts of the world. The decision of the filmmakers to pin point on this specific problem and location helps teach the audience about something they may not have considered before. From personal experience, international films always help enlgihten me about a community I hadn’t learned about previously, and this film does just that. The personal testimonies of the women and girls in this film provide an emotional connection that wouldn’t have been possible without this film. It was so interesting to hear accounts of girls not knowing what a period was and women describing they’ve been unsure of what it was their entire life.
The film, in its short running time, manages to not only educate the audience on a lack of period product access, but a lack of proper sexual education. It’s clear both the girls and boys in the rural community aren’t properly taught about menstrual health and the science behind it. This film combines an inspirational aspect of the women being independent and innovative, while also showcasing all the work that is left to be done. It displays the progress that women have been able to make, but also the large gap in gender equality that still exists. It’s clear the women still face discrimination in their community, but they are continuing to work to provide themselves with the resources they need while empowering those younger than them to do the same.
I absolutely loved this film as it offered an uplifting story while also calling attention to an unspoken topic that people around the world should be educated about.