Period Pains

Fowk caa it menstruation, period, time o the month, or ye can refer tae it by ma personal favourit, a phrase used by oor funny French freens owre the watter – ‘the English have landit’. Caa it fitiver ye want, aire’s nae hiding the fact that maist o us quines simply canna get through life athoot experiencing it on a regular basis. It’s nae a secret, an discussing it is nae somethin that should be seen as taboo in this day an age. Luckily, noo it seems that the issues faced by weemen during that time o the month, that so mony o us dread sae much, are bein addressed.

Noo, Ah ken plenty fowk fa hiv been sae kind as tae donate claes an maet tae those less fortunate than themselves. Ah even ken o mony an appeal, fan fowk hiv gien toys, bathe brand spanking new and preloved, tae bairns fa itherwise wadna hiv haen onything tae open fae Sunty on Christmas mornin. But fit aboot those bairns’ mithers an sisters, their aunties an even sometimes grunnies, fa hiv tae resort tae pitting their health in danger by usin items sic as socks, rags an scrunched up paper ivry single month, in order tae compensate for nae being able tae afford sanitary products? We dinna like tae think, or even mebbe dinna ken an affa muckle aboot it, but it gaeins on richt in front o oor facies. Well, it seems that mebbe the Scottish government has come up wi a solution tae this problem faced by weemin across the globe…

The SNP wis the only major political party tae say they were gaun tae abolish the unfair 5% tax on tampons in their manifesto during the 2015 General Election. However, noo the Scottish Government seem tae be trying tae gaein one step further. Earlier in the year a bill was proposed that wad pit a legal duty on meenisters tae provide free sanitary products as a basic richt. This wad mean that free sanitary products wad be provided in the lavvies in aa schools, colleges and universities. Imagine bidin in a world far quines wadna hae tae miss oot on their education ivry month because o a natural bodily function. We’d be ae step closer tae smashin that gless ceilin.

Afore they gaein aheed wi the hale shebang, the scheme is being pioletet in the very toon far Ah bide – Aiberdeen. The piolet is gaun tae be run by Community Food Initiatives North East (CFINE), an is costin the government £42, 500. It’s hopet that mair than a thoosan quines across the city are gaun tae be helpit ower a period o sax month, by gettin a wee caird tae tak tae the chemist, doctor or shoppie that entitles them tae get the products they need for naethin. If it aa gings weel, it could weel be that the scheme is rolled oot owre the hail country. Scotland becomes ane o the ferst countries in the world tae gie oot free tampons tae onybody and aabody that needs them.

Aire is also anither option which mebbe hisna really been thoucht aboot yet. Mooncups. Mooncups are wee silicone cups that act similar tae tampons, but are reusable.

A Mooncup has an abundance o advantages. As weel as seeminly bein comfortable, convenient an reliable, it is ane thing for sure, an that thing is cost effective. They cost jist twinty poun an laist up tae fower year. It mebbe seems lik a scuttery idea, but it’s possible that if the Scottish Government was tae haun oot free Mooncups, raither than tampons an pads, it could mak the scheme even mair cost effective an environmentally friendly.

Ane thing that’s for sure, is that period poverty is a bloody pain in the neck (as weel as ither places o course), an aathin possible has tae be daen, be it get rid o the tampon tax, offer free Mooncups or haun oot free sanitary products tae quines in schools, tae dae awa wi the issue aa thegither.

Lets keep wir een on the trial in Aiberdeen…

Comments (7)

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  1. Derek Rohrbacher says:

    Great article, Antonia!

    ‘the English have landit’ hahaha

  2. raddledoldtart says:

    There are cheaper unbranded versions of Mooncups, in case anyone’s put off by the price, I’ve been perfectly happy with a £4.50 ebay purchase 🙂

  3. Ally says:

    GREAT tae read aboot this. Guid airticle!

    Whit dae other lassies mak o the mooncup option?

  4. Seumas MacDhòmhnall says:

    A ken it’s nae lauchin maiter, but “a period o sax month” maun be haurder than a normal period, wad it?

  5. J Houston says:

    The Doric in this reads like it is just English with a few words Scotticised. Also have, experiencing (with a g), Scottish, school… not Scots words… sorry.

    1. Ally says:

      Nae need tae apologise J,
      Doric, like ilka dialect o Scots, exists oan a spectrum, wi braid Scots at ae end an Scottish English at the ither. Scrievers are welcome tae finn the point oan that spectrum that best suits their purpose at the time.

      There’s a guid skelp o modren Doric literature (e.g Pat Hutchison) that’s scrievit just as ye see aboon. Nae aabdy wants tae ging richt tae the bottom o the wird kist ilka time they use their ain leid.

      The point is the message o the airticle, no it’s delivery

      Also I’d aye encourage folk tae repone tae airticles in Scots, gin ye feel equal tae it

  6. Gordon Benton says:

    Gordon
    Aye, richt eneuch; fit must a bin aye a richt auld scunner, an pricey t’boot, will surely be a thing o th’past. A cannae imagine onybody’d argee wi ye. Holyrood’s daeing some damned guid things for us folks, ye micht agree.
    PS: it’s bin a lang time syne A baed in Rhynie – ye can tell!

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