Addressing Period Poverty

Maanya Pandey, a public health undergraduate student from West Des Moines, Iowa, is highly engaged in the community and founded her own nonprofit organization. She recently discussed her interests in public health and women’s health.

Why did you choose to study public health?

I’m fascinated by the hard sciences and mechanisms of life, but I’m also passionate about social justice. Public health addresses the root causes of health inequities, and I get an interdisciplinary breadth of study while intertwining the aspects of life and health I wanted to make a difference in, not only the biological side of medicine, but the humanitarian side, too.

What motivated you to found an organization to help fight period poverty?

I founded Love For Red (www.loveforred.org), a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to fight period poverty in Iowa through service, advocacy, and awareness, in 2020 as a sophomore in high school. Growing up, women in my life recounted stories about their difficult experiences with menstruation from a lack of available period products, and in high school I learned of the struggles women in prisons go through due to not having these products. I found that this issue of inaccessibility was prevalent in the United States and specifically in our communities as well. I realized that there were not many organizations addressing this issue, so I decided to establish my own!

The reality is that the over-stigmatization and under-discussion of menstruation and period poverty is causing people with periods to suffer in silence due to both monetary and physical inaccessibility of period products.

Love For Red’s work is about more than just access to hygiene products; it’s about dignity, equity, and empowerment. We take a multifaceted approach to address and tackle period poverty in which we donate period products to schools and organizations, advocate for systemic policy change at the state and local level, and bring awareness to period poverty and challenge the stigma.

What other activities are you involved in?

On campus, I direct the Love For Red Iowa City team, conduct research in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinical and Research Laboratories, and dance as a part of Iowa Andhi, the university’s South Asian Fusion Dance Team. Outside of campus, I am on the board of directors for the Family Planning Council of Iowa (an organization that works to provide Iowans with quality reproductive health care and family planning services through delegation of federal Title X funds), and I lead Love for Red’s work across Iowa.

What are your plans post-graduation?

My goals are to pursue medical school to contribute to women’s health and better health outcomes for underserved demographics and communities. I also plan to continue expanding Love For Red and integrating this work with my career ambitions.

PHOTO BY JOEY LOBODA