Helen Yeung
Scotland to be the world’s first country to offer free sanitary products to tertiary students nationwide.
Scotland will be the world’s first country to offer free sanitary products to students at schools, colleges and universities nationwide, as part of an initiative to combat “period poverty.” A £5.2 million government scheme will be carried out for 395,000 students across the country, with the aim of helping girls and women who struggle to pay for basic sanitary products on a monthly basis. Communities secretary Aileen Campbell said, “our £5.2m investment will mean these essential products will be available to those who need them in a sensitive and dignified way, which will make it easier for students to full focus on their studies.”
The primary aim of the scheme was to ensure young women did not miss out on education as a result of lack of access to sanitary products. A recent survey which found, out of 2000 participants, one in four individuals in school, college or university struggled to access sanitary products in the country. In addition to this, Plan International UK found that 49% of girls have missed at least one full day of school due to their period. The president of Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, Alison Evison said she is hoping this will “contribute to a more open conversation and reducing the unnecessary stigma associated with periods.”
San Francisco elects first African-American woman as mayor of the city.
A few weeks ago, London Breed was elected the first African-American woman mayor of the city of San Francisco. Born in San Francisco, she was raised by her grandmother in the city’s public housing and attended public schools. Ms Breed worked as an executive director of the African American Art and Culture Complex for over a decade, before becoming involved in public office, and will be serving till 2020.
In a news conference, Ms Breed particularly discussed her upbringing. “I grew up in some of the most challenging of circumstances,” she said. “I think the message that this sends to the next generation of young people growing up in this city, that no matter where you come from…you can do anything you want to do.”
Admin of Facebook page ‘The Asian Feminist’ banned after sharing screenshots of misogynistic chat forum in Hong Kong
An admin of the news and media page, The Asian Feminist (TAF), was banned from Facebook last week after sharing screenshots of a chat regarding unconsented upskirt photos shared on the communication app Telegram. The screenshots were originally posted by a Hong Kong woman and feminist blogger named Emilia Wong, which showed a Telegram chat forum where members were sharing upskirt photos of their girlfriends, exes, and sex workers. The chat forum had more than 10,000 members. “Since we posted the screenshots of Emilia Wong’s screenshots of the upskirting chat forum on Telegram, Facebook banned one of our admins who made the posting and netizens who shared the post,” said TAF.
April Editors
Youjin Lee
