There are certain books that have the ability to leave you different than you were before you read them.
And Flow is one such book that has successfully transformed me from being shy to talk about menstruation to now having a more confident and positive attitude towards the word.
I have been looking for a book that will educate me about menstruation and what I can do for those who are menstruators during their periods for years.
And I would like to thank Candice Chirwa, Ponstho Pilane, Karen Jeynes, Tariq Hoosen, Dr. Ilana Johnson, and Claire Fourie, who have not only given me this precious gift, but they have successfully removed the veils of shame and ignorance that was covering my eyes for years.
In Flow, these powerful menstruation activists collectively take us into a classroom where they provide us with some much-needed education about the topic: what is menstruation, the economic, social, political, and cultural understanding of it.
Now, I need to admit that before I opened the pages of this book, I knew little about the subject, however, while perusing through the pages, I was not only able to get rid of the shame that I had to talk about menstruation with my fellow non-menstruators, but my attitude changed a lot about what I need to do in order to play my part in the fight against period poverty in my community.
This is one book that will not only educate you about menstruation but will ask you to take practical actions to help those who are in need of sanitary products in the fight against period injustice.
Flow is not only a book for menstruators, but it also for us, non-menstruators to read, so that we can understand what our sisters, mothers, nieces, trans and non-binary friends go through every month and how we can help them during that period.
Flow is a book that will change so many lives and attitudes of different people.
I find the language so easy to understand, and I am confident that so many other people will relate to some of the issues raised.
There are obviously some points raised by the authors which are very much contentious, for example, the issue of period leave.
While I find it to be a progressive move to give menstruators days off from work. However, the practical result of that is that- in a country like South Africa where Black women, in particular, make the biggest chunk of the unemployment statistics, if such a policy can be adopted, it will lead to more women being unemployment, because employers will make it a point not to hire women as compared to non-menstrautors.
Besides that, Flow is a book that everyone- menstruators and non-menstruators should read.
It will save your dignity and the dignity of your loved ones.