By Bienvenue Konsimbo | Founder & Executive Director
For years, Girl Now Woman Later (GNWL) has worked with girls in Burkina Faso to provide menstrual health education, break the silence surrounding menstruation, and ensure that girls have the knowledge and products they need to manage their periods with dignity.
But our work has also taught us an important lesson: ending period shame cannot be the responsibility of girls alone.
A girl may leave a menstrual health workshop feeling informed and confident, but she still returns to a family, school, and community where myths, teasing, embarrassment, and silence around menstruation may continue. If we want lasting change, we must also engage the people around her.
That realization has inspired the next step in our work: Allies in Action, a new GNWL initiative designed to bring boys and male allies into the conversation about menstrual health.
Preparing Boys to Become Allies
GNWL is currently preparing to introduce Allies in Action as a complement to our existing Menstrual Health Education & Empowerment Workshops for girls.
The program is designed to engage boys and young men in age-appropriate conversations about menstruation, respect, empathy, and support. Participants will learn basic facts about menstruation, examine common myths and misconceptions, discuss how teasing and stigma can affect girls, and explore practical ways they can become more supportive classmates, brothers, friends, and community members.
The goal is not to shift attention away from girls. Rather, it is to help create an environment in which girls no longer have to navigate menstruation surrounded by misunderstanding or shame.
Why Male Inclusion Matters
The idea behind Allies in Action has also been reinforced by what we have observed through our existing menstrual health work.
During one of our workshops, a male teacher and youth mentor shared how much he appreciated the opportunity to learn about menstrual health. He explained that the knowledge he gained could be shared with his sisters, daughters, students, and other girls in his community.
His response reminded us that men and boys do not have to remain outside conversations about menstruation. With appropriate education, they can become informed and supportive allies.
Moving Beyond Products
Menstrual products remain essential. Girls need access to pads and other supplies to manage their periods safely and confidently.
But products alone cannot eliminate period shame.
That requires education, conversation, and changes in attitudes.
Allies in Action is being developed to work alongside GNWL's education and product-access efforts. Our aim is to address the challenge from multiple directions: equipping girls with knowledge and resources while helping create a more understanding and supportive environment around them.
Our vision is a community where a girl can have her period without being embarrassed, mocked, excluded, or made to feel that something natural about her body must remain hidden.
The Next Step Toward a Period-Friendly World
Girls participating in our workshops have told us how difficult it can be to talk openly about menstruation because it remains a taboo subject in their communities. They have also told us how education helped them understand their bodies, ask questions, and see menstruation differently.
Their voices continue to shape our work.
We are proud of the girls who have found the confidence to speak about their menstrual journeys and share what they have learned with others. With Allies in Action, we are preparing to widen that conversation.
In the coming months, GNWL looks forward to taking this next step and learning from the boys, educators, families, and communities who will help shape the program as it grows.
Because creating a period-friendly world requires more than helping girls manage their periods.
It requires communities that understand them, schools where they feel supported, and allies who are willing to stand beside them.
Thank you for continuing to follow Girl Now Woman Later's journey as we prepare to introduce this new chapter of our menstrual health work.
Together, we can move from period shame to understanding, from silence to conversation, and from awareness to allyship.
By Bienvenue Konsimbo | Founder/CEO
By BIENVENUE KONSIMBO | FOUNDER
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