Kotex MY joins forces with Project Mekar to address period poverty

Menstrual hygiene brand Kotex Malaysia will be aiding the Selangor state government’s Project Mekar through its ‘She can initiative’, in a bid to address period poverty.

According to Bernama, a member of state assembly of Bukit Melawati, Juwairiya Zulkifli, said that Project Mekar will run as a pilot for six months, aimed at benefiting 1000 students in five schools across the state. With Kotex’s help, these students can also receive free menstrual hygiene products. Zulkifli was speaking at the closing ceremony of the #KotexRiseUp camp which took place recently. 

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Zulkifli said that Kotex will be installing machines that would dispense sanitary pads for free in school washrooms. According to Bernama’s reports, the machines will also be Wi-Fi enabled which would allow for the government to receive a report on the redemption of the pads.

Managing director of Kimberly-Clark Malaysia, the parent company of Kotex, Rahul Asthana, reportedly said that under Kotex’s ‘She can’ initiative, the brand seeks to instill confidence in girls that ‘Period or not, She can’.

He went on to explain that the lack of conversation around periods, and the health implications around such social issues includes negative reactions and mediocre treatment of menstruating women, which can lead to them feeling uncomfortable to talk about their periods.

This is not Kotex Malaysia's first stint with Project Mekar. The brand has been a strategic partner of the project since its launch. "Our partnership is a testament to our shared vision for a future where Selangor girls and women do not suffer from period poverty, and one where a period is never in the way of a girl's progress," said Sharon Roberts, head of communications and government affairs in a LinkedIn post. 

In other efforts to combat misinformation, stigmas and myths around female menstruation. Kotex recently partnered up with Ogilvy to launch a new educational campaign titled “Period Planet”, built around an immersive, web-based gaming experience.

As part of its purpose to ensure that periods never stand in the way of any woman's progress, Kotex had the ambition to build a scalable, cost-effective, long term owned platform to engage with a wide range of audiences. It then partnered with Ogilvy in APAC on end-to-end development, from defining the problem statement and formulating a brief, to defining the player experience journey and working with experience design studio North Kingdom on the build.

In the game, the player’s mission is to transform Period Planet from a dark lifeless moonscape where myths and misinformation have been left to run amok, into a lush, healthy planet as they embark on an immersive journey to learn more about puberty, the reproductive system, and period management. Upon completing the four levels of the game, players are rewarded with a downloadable version of their game avatar, free period products and encouraged to use period tracker to stay on top of their period.

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