Learning more about the PERIOD.project

Documentary photographer, Eveline Gerritsen is working on a project to bring attention to Period Poverty. Instax chatted to her about this topic and how she used Instax to promote her work.

One in four girl learners in South Africa misses school monthly because of a lack of access to menstrual hygiene products and support during their menstrual periods. Learners say menstruation is a fact, not a choice, and should be mainstreamed in conversations and schools so that it stops being a taboo subject.

As a documentary photographer from the Netherlands, I had never heard of the topic Period Poverty. When I began researching non-profit organisations in Cape Town, I discovered that there are several that distribute sanitary pads to girls. The more I researched the topic, the more I realised I wanted to create a photo book about this topic.

Research showed that about 30% of schoolgirls missed school when they were menstruating, as they could not afford the sanitary pads or have access to them. This means that a girl could effectively lose about 90 days of schooling in a year as a direct result of issues relating to menstruation.

The fact that we still don’t have access to sanitary pads for every woman in 2024 amazes me. This motivated me to begin this project, however, ensure the girls look empowered because all girls deserve a change of good education and a career.

The aim of the project is to make people aware of this global issue and to convince them to participate in the fight against period poverty. I want to work with international brands and local non-profits who are interested in publishing my photo book and the stories of the girls.

For each book sold, a portion of the proceeds will go to the NGO, which will support girls by providing them with sanitary pads. This way the project is educational, sustainable, and we build a community of people who believe in finding solutions for this problem.

The idea of the project was to get 15 teenage girl learners from Bulumko High School in Khayelitsha, Cape Town involved. Together with the girls, we worked on a creative art project: we made art out of menstrual hygiene products. During this creative process, we discussed the issue of period poverty and any other concerns the learners might encounter in school. By creating art, we created a safe space for the girls to open up, and it allowed me to get a better insight into the issues that girls in SA deal with.

After the workshop, we did a photo shoot with the girls in one of the classrooms of their school. We had a lot of fun, and they were all so enthusiastic about the idea and the cool images.

Thanks to the Instax link Wide printer, I was able to print a portrait for each girl who participated in the shoot. A few weeks after the shoot I visited the school, together with the printer to meet up with the girls. Having the portraits printed directly from my phone impressed them all. They shared their portraits with each other and gave me compliments on how the images turned out.

The Instax app and the printer lets you add QR codes anywhere on your pictures. When the QR code is added, it can be configured to link to a website, record a sound, display a location pin or display a hidden text message – all of which are activated when scanned by a smartphone. It’s a great feature that really makes a photo “come alive”.

I was part of a creative market at the Silo District at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. It was a very cool market where new creatives could show their work. I printed some portraits and added a QR code in the bottom that would link to my website. Visitors could scan the QR code and find more information about the project on my website. But if they really liked the portrait, they could take the Instax from the wall and take it home. It was a very low-key and fun way to promote my project and to get people involved.

Where can people find out more about the PERIOD.project?

People can read all about the project on my website and if they feel they want to get involved or have any suggestions, they can reach out to me through there. I am looking for the right connections with international brands and local non-profits, but I am also looking for more girls to photograph who deal with period poverty or the consequences of this issue. Let’s get in touch!

Find out more about the PERIOD.projecter here: https://evelinegerritsen.com/period-project/
Visit Eveline’s Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/effiegerritsen