An 18-year-old is campaigning for girls on free school meals to be given free sanitary products.
Amika George, from north London, is calling on the government to help youngsters who are missing school because they cannot afford tampons or sanitary towels.
She says she was ‘shocked’ after learning that girls as young as 10 were using ‘horrible alternatives like socks and tissues’ instead of sanitary products.
The teenager has now teamed up with The Pink Protest project in order to raise awareness of her Free Periods campaign.
Amika George, 18, from north London, has called for girls on free school meals to be given free sanitary products
Amika’s petition calling for free sanitary products for underprivileged girls, which was set up in April, has gathered over 13,000 signatures so far and has received support from a number of MPs.
Explaining her decision to star the campaign, she told FEMAIL: ‘I read this article about girls who are forced to miss school every month because of their period, or use horrible alternatives to sanitary products like socks.
‘It really shocked me, as I’ve never had to even consider anything like that.’
Describing the effect the lack of sanitary products has on young girls, Amika continued: ‘It’s awful. It has a massive impact on their self-confidence and self-esteem.
The A-level student says she was ‘shocked’ after learning that girls as young as 10 were having to use ‘horrible alternatives like socks and tissues’
Amika has teamed up with The Pink Protest project to raise awareness of her campaign
‘It’s also the long-term impact of having to miss school every month. I don’t understand how you can get through school when having to take so much time off.’
The A-level student says she hopes to encourage more people to talk about period poverty, in order to improve access to sanitary products.
She is currently working with The Pink Project, a group that is raising awareness of the Free Period campaign and other campaigns using social media.
Activists have previously protested against the so-called ‘tampon tax’, which means that VAT is paid on sanitary products.
The former chancellor George Osborne announced last year that money raised from the tax would be donated to charity.
Previously campaigners have protested against the ‘tampon tax’, which means VAT applies to sanitary products (file photo)