The Campaign
The Grace & Nelly Project Inc., has compiled a series of short stories centered on the arrival of a woman’s first menstrual period. These stories detail the experiences of African women of different ages and backgrounds. They highlight the struggles and joys that girls and women on the African continent have encountered when beginning their journey into womanhood.
The Campaign is open to all women of African descent, whether currently living on the continent or in the diaspora. The Grace & Nelly Project will accept and post stories from girls and women who are wishing to share their stories with others.[1]
Why We Took on This Campaign
The Grace & Nelly Project is dedicated to creating awareness and sharing information with the public regarding the health and wellbeing of Zimbabwe’s young. As such, we sought to find the type of information that is available to young women in Zimbabwe regarding their menstrual cycle. Aside from all the educational material that is available, we noticed that there was also a plethora of information detailing the personal experiences of women from all over the western world. These consisted of blog posts and various magazines describing the various issues that women have struggled with during their periods. These stories are a testament to how far the world has come and how women’s periods are no longer discussed in the shadows.
However, like much of the information available online, the stories mostly came from Western women, women of different shapes, sizes and races (although mostly Caucasian women). If you are living in Sub-Saharan Africa, the stories you read online are helpful but they do not resonate in the same way as a story told by someone who has experienced the same struggles. The stories do not bring to light the cultural and religious obstacles that women on the African continent are faced with when going through puberty.
This compilation of stories exists to tell the stories of girls and women who have experienced their periods through the lens of poverty, misogyny rooted in cultural and religious practices, and a general misconception of what it means to be a woman on the African continent. Not all the stories you will read are tragic as not all the experiences of women on the African continent are as such. The stories are intended to give those who have been unseen and unheard a platform to share their stories. To create a safe space for African women to discuss a topic that, is still considered taboo in many African countries.
Some of these stories are going to be published as a collection of short stories which will be made available in English, Shona and Ndebele and distributed to young girls in Zimbabwe.