Independent Media backs bold campaign to fight period poverty and restore dignity

Today, readers of The Star, The Mercury and Cape Times opened their newspapers to find something deeply uncomfortable: period blood stains splashed across the front page and seeping through the pages beneath, as though the newspaper itself had been used as a sanitary pad.

Because for nearly four million South African schoolgirls, it effectively has been.

The powerful Period Paper campaign was created by leading independent advertising agency Joe Public in partnership with the MENstruation Foundation and Independent Media. The campaign confronts one of the country’s most widely experienced but least discussed realities: period poverty. Its message is stark and unforgettable: “A newspaper can absorb the blood, but not the shame.”

The decision to use newspapers as the campaign medium was deliberate and symbolic. For millions of young girls living in poverty, newspapers, rags and other unsafe materials are often used as substitutes for sanitary products. By turning newspapers themselves into the message, the campaign forces readers to confront an uncomfortable reality many young women face every month.

Independent Media has a long-standing commitment to using its platforms to drive meaningful social change and national dialogue. Over the years, the group has championed impactful public-interest campaigns, including the award-winning Racism Stops With Me initiative, which challenged racial prejudice and discrimination; The Dignity Project, which highlighted the plight of homelessness and the deprivation of dignity in South Africa; and its ongoing gender-based violence awareness campaign, Don’t Look Away. The collaboration on Period Paper was therefore a natural extension of Independent Media’s broader commitment to purpose-driven journalism and media-led social activism.

Independent Media Group Executive for Marketing and Communication, Lutfia Vayej, said the campaign reflects the role media should play in society.

“Millions of schoolgirls are impacted by period poverty, yet for many people, the issue remains invisible. As a media organisation, we believe our role is not only to report the news but to use the power and reach of our platforms to confront uncomfortable realities, amplify urgent social issues and drive meaningful national conversations that can inspire action and change. We are proud to be part of a campaign that transforms the very material these girls are forced to use into a powerful message the country cannot ignore.”

The MENstruation Foundation, the largest non-profit distributor of free sanitary pads in Africa, currently provides free pads to approximately 100 000 schoolgirls every month through its sanitary pad dispensing machine programme installed in schools nationwide.

“We have the solution. We make the world’s most affordable high-quality sanitary pads,” said MENstruation Foundation co-founder Siv Ngesi. “But we need donors and corporate sponsors to reach millions more girls. Without them, we cannot end period poverty in South Africa.”

Joe Public Managing Director Mpume Ngobese said the campaign was designed to provoke both discomfort and action.

“We wanted to create something impossible to ignore. Period poverty is often hidden in shame and silence, yet it affects millions of girls every single month. By using newspapers, one of the very materials many girls are forced to use during their periods, we transformed an everyday object into a powerful symbol of both survival and indignity. The campaign is intentionally uncomfortable because the reality is uncomfortable. Our hope is that it sparks meaningful conversation, drives awareness and ultimately mobilises support and resources to help restore dignity to young girls across South Africa.”