Speaking up for the right to safe sanitary padsAt the Korean Women ' s Environmental Network ( KWEN ) ' s " Press Conference for a Thorough Investigation into the Side Effects of Disposable Sanitary Pads "     © KWEN ※ Editor ’ s note : Article author Kim - Shin Hyo - Jeong is a feminist researcher and activist .   Where are the safe sanitary pads ?   I want to burn sanitary pads . I want to go to Gwanghwamun Square and burn the thousands of sanitary pads I ’ ve used in my life . ( Though if I really did that , I ’ d have to pay a 5 - million - won fine for arson . )   I ’ ve always been told that the reason for the stomach and back discomfort and terrible uterine pain I ’ ve had is unknowable . Because the source was unknown , I blamed myself . I told myself I was in pain because I ate meat , ate dairy and flour products , drank alcohol , worked late , didn ’ t exercise . Despite the monthly pain that made me want to have my uterus removed , all I did was get slightly stronger painkillers and try to bear it . It didn ’ t occur to me that my menstrual pain could be caused by the sanitary pads that I carefully chose and bought at a discount .   I ’ m so angry that I ’ ve been living deprived of my right as a consumer to know what goes into sanitary pads and which sanitary pads are safe . It ’ s been six months since the presence of toxic materials in sanitary pads was revealed , but we still don ’ t have the necessary safety information .   I want to buy the sanitary pads said to be safe , even though they ’ re two - to - three times more expensive , but they ’ re always sold out . Orders for cotton sanitary pads have become so backed up that they say that one placed now won ’ t be filled until next year . When my period starts , I wonder what product I can use to minimize the danger , but I can ’ t find the answer . With no other choice , I choose the problematic disposable sanitary pads again . Wearing them , I feel uncomfortable . I wonder what chemicals are in them and what will happen if they enter my body , and I ’ m plagued by anxiety when my lower abdomen starts to cramp up .   Are menstrual cups and cloth pads good alternatives ?   Menstrual cups ’ and cloth pads ’ popularity as alternatives has shot up , but when I went to buy some , I found that they aren ’ t cheap . And they ’ re difficult to use . I watched a YouTube video on how to use menstrual cups , and then I watched it again , but I still couldn ’ t get it . Menstrual cups are expensive , and you need to buy one that ’ s a good fit for your body if you want it to work right . You need to know the length of your cervix , but I ’ m not sure how you could go about measuring that .   What ’ s more , cups and cloth pads are completely impractical for people who don ’ t have their own bathroom and , in pads ’ case , a space that gets sunlight to dry them . That means they ’ re off the table for people who live in goshiwon [ a form of housing that usually involves sharing a bathroom ] or half - basement apartments , or who have roommates . Menstrual cups are also out of the question for many women with disabilities .   Also , for women who spend all day doing paid labor , the care involved in cleaning cloth pads is a burdensome addition to their housework . We need disposable pads that are safe ( for us and the environment ) .   I also hear that it ’ s been two months since the government supply of free menstrual pads provided to low - income teenage girls has run out in the wake of the controversy . These girls , who were using shoe inserts as menstrual pads before that program was created – what do you think they ’ re using now ? Sept . 5 , in front of the Government Complex - Seoul . After its press conference , KWEN led a performance enitled " My Body Is Evidence – Test Me ", which c     © KWEN   Whom does the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety serve ?   When the controversy became uncontainable , the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety ( MFDA ) finally started an investigation of 86 types of volatile organic compounds ( VOCs ) in 896 menstrual pad products made by 56 companies and sold in South Korea . For reference , one menstrual pad is said to contain traces of around 200 types of chemicals .   The MFDA announced today that it would reveal the results of an investigation of 10 VOCs by the end of September , and results regarding the other 76 by the end of the year . But I ’ m already suspicious of the results , not only because the MFDA ’ s foot - dragging has made it difficult to trust , but also because its investigation will not check for toxic chemicals other than VOCs , such as dioxins , heavy metals , residual pesticides , and artificial fragrances .   And that ’ s not all . The MFDA ’ s “ Menstrual Pad Safety Investigation Committee ” doesn ’ t include a single expert on women ’ s or environmental issues . Some of the committee ’ s meetings have been conducted in private , and a list of its members has not been provided . Taken altogether , these facts convince me that the MFDA is ultimately indifferent to public safety . You have to ask - if the MFDA is not on citizens ’ side , whose side is it on ?   - National inspection targeting not menstrual pads but women ’ s groups ?   Meanwhile , further controversy has arisen as Liberty Korea Party assemblyman Kim Sang - hoon ( West Daegu district ) of the National Assembly ’ s Health and Welfare Committee has called the Korean Women ’ s Environmental Network ( KWEN ) in for a state affairs audit to accuse it of having a special relationship with a particular menstrual products firm .   KWEN is a women ’ s organization that has been promoting women ’ s health rights by publicizing the issue of menstrual pad safety in March , collecting more than 3 , 000 stories of the harm caused by menstrual pads , etc . But what does it mean that the state affairs audit focuses not on securing the safety of menstrual products but on challenging the women ’ s organization that has brought the issue of toxic menstrual pads to light ?   The Liberty Korea Party ’ s actions are fishy . They ’ re conducting a classic witch hunt against the women who dare to speak out about unbearable pain and society ’ s institutional discrimination . I want to ask Assemblyman Kim : “ And menstrual pads ? What are you going to do about them ? What are you going to do about the toxic menstrual pads that firms have made hundreds of billions of won selling over the past decades ? ”   Women , who find blood flowing from themselves once a month at unpredictable times and places , need menstrual products . Shouldn ’ t the most important item on the government ’ s agenda be how to make these products safe ? Shouldn ’ t they call all of these firms that have made money putting women ’ s bodies at risk to the National Assembly for questioning ? The National Assembly should investigate the corrupt relationship between the Liberty Korea Party and menstrual products firms .   A press conference led by KWEN in Gwanghwamun Square on May 26 in honor of Menstrual Hygiene Day .     © Fireworks Femi - ActionThe women ’ s health revolution begins   A country that doesn ’ t have safe menstrual products , prohibits abortion , and pressures women to have children : this is the reality of South Korea that women are now fighting against with their bodies . It is also the true face of the state and of capital .   How long do women have to live with nameless pain and fear ? My body has already suffered too much to wait quietly for someone to make safe menstrual products .   We have to burn the menstrual pads in our bathroom drawers . And let ’ s reclaim the right to use menstrual products that are safe for our bodies and for the sustainability of the environment . The revolution for women ’ s health has already begun , and will continue until the day when women can menstruate without worry .   ※ Link to a [ Korean - language ] Blue House citizens ’ petition started by Menstruating Women calling for a total investigation of toxins in menstrual products and a bodily epidemiological investigation : http : / / bit . ly / 2 wQZVYD   Published Sept . 26 , 2017 Translated by Marilyn Hook   * Original article : http : / / ildaro . com / 8010 [ 일다 ] ▶   『 일다 』 편집 판 을 네이버 메인 뉴스 로 보 세요 ! ▶   페미니스트 저널 일 다 후원 하 기 ▶   미국인 에디터 와 함께 하 는 『 일다 』 영문 페이지