Amika George
- Hayeon Kwak
- Jul 19, 2024
- 3 min read
“We can’t trust our policymakers to take action on issues that seem obvious to us. If we want to see change, it falls on us to create that change.”
From a young teenage girl in her first year of A-levels to an influential feminist and author, activist Amika George’s story is an empowering story of what courage and actions can do.
Seventeen-year-old Amika George sat at her breakfast table, scrolling through her phone while eating cereal when she came across an article that caught her eye: “Period Poverty” in the UK. She couldn’t imagine what she would do every month without menstruation sanitary products, and she was horrified by what she read. Impoverished young students would miss school on their periods out of embarrassment and fear as they stuffed their underwear with tissues, old socks, or pieces of their clothing to cover the blood.
“I thought that [because the government has a list of the girls who are from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds who receive free school meals] we would already have a system in place for struggling girls to receive free sanitary products,” Amika George recalled in an interview with The Pink Project. Girls as young as ten years old were missing school every month, facing isolation, humiliation, compromising their education, and thereby unable to perform their best. Period poverty in the UK compromised both dignity and education, forcing young girls into a cycle of poverty.
Although the shocking news of period poverty flashed across the media, the headlines became old in only a few days, and the discussion followed. No decisive decision from the government ever came. Despite the struggles of hundreds of poor girls across the country, Menstrual care was still too uncomfortable and insignificant for real action to be taken.
When no help was offered, Amika George moved to take action herself. She had never started any campaigns, and facing a stressful time as a high-achieving student at school, George had no reason to start change, but something “stirred” in her when she imagined herself in the shoes of the girls who were “too poor to have a period.”
Less than a month after she read her first article on period poverty that fateful morning at her breakfast table, Amika George launched Free Periods, a campaign advocating for the British government to provide free menstrual products to all children in school. After spending hours at school preparing for her exams, Amika George came home to schedule meetings with politicians, write emails, and answer interview requests. She spread her campaign for the next two years, fighting government inaction through social media posts, blogs, and an initially reluctant father who later shared George’s campaign amongst work colleagues.
By the end of the same year, Amika George was leading a rally of 2,000 people to a demonstration in London calling out the government’s silence on period poverty. Amika George recalls feeling relieved and overwhelmed by the diverse crowd that responded to her call for a protest. She had worried it would only be herself, her mother, and a few friends struggling to fill the London streets holding pink signs. However, as thousands began to assemble, the chants demanding more concern for menstrual care were irrepressible.
In January 2020, the hopes of the Free Period campaigners finally became a reality, as the British government promised funding to every single school in England for free menstrual products for students. By taking the first step when she had every reason to cover her eyes and move on like everyone else, Amika George started the movement that ensured thousands of girls would no longer have to rip off sleeves of t-shirts to stuff their underwear with during their periods, miss school, or “go through the monthly stress of wondering where their next period pad will come from.”
Today, Free Periods has grown into a global organisation, with young girls worldwide advocating for an end to period poverty in their own communities. For her inspiring and brave actions, Amika George received the ‘Goalkeepers’ Campaign Award’ from Bill and Melinda Gates amongst many other recognitions. “But there’s still work to do,” Amika George wrote for the Washington Post, urging young people to discuss periods and dispel the taboo surrounding menstrual cycles.
Now a renowned activist and author, 24-year-old Amika George encourages young people to speak out and realise how powerful they are.
Written by Hayeon Kwak
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