Menstruation affects half of humanity. Yet it's still sometimes difficult to verbalize the difficulties they cause. Every month, a woman spends an average of fifteen euros on sanitary towels. Over a lifetime, that adds up to almost 7,000 euros. A small car.

A considerable budget that some women can't afford. "It's one of the first things to go when the going gets tough," says Marjorie Macoire, a street educator at Marche. So they resort to system D: toilet paper, newspaper or absorbent cotton. With all the sanitary problems that entails.

But menstrual precariousness isn't just a problem for the socially and economically disadvantaged. There's forgetting. There are the distances between one's office, one's place of passage and the first open store. There are also the young girls in school.

"That's why we felt it was important to carry out this action. We're in the province of Luxembourg. Wherever we go, there are distances to be covered. Sometimes you don't have everything you need with you. With this initiative, we want to make sanitary towels available to as many people as possible", comments Health Councillor Magali Coppe.

The initiative consists of a major donation drive. From January 24 to February 8, Marchois and Marchoises are invited to drop off packets of sanitary towels in large pink boxes. Twelve collection centers are listed:

- Carrefour Market
- Colruyt
- Delhaize
- Hypermarché Carrefour
- Mado
- Maison de Jeunes
- Maison Médicale de Aye
- Mic-Ados
- Mutualité Chrétienne
- Mutualité Libérale
- Planning pluraliste
- Spar de Aye

For hygiene reasons, only individually wrapped sanitary towels are accepted.

And of course, this initiative isn't just for women," stresses Juliette Lepage, coordinator of ASBL Bruzelle. All men have mothers, sisters, daughters and nieces around them. These are for them! This fight is not a question of gender."

Source: www.rtbf.be/