The three-month-long “Menstrual Hygiene is a Woman’s Right” campaign by KAO Laurier Malaysia and MyPerintis in 2021 raised RM150,000 worth of sanitary napkins to benefit 20,000 B40 students in 20 public universities across Malaysia. The official handover ceremony took place at Universiti Malaya and was presented by KAO Malaysia President, Itou Hirofumi, to Universiti Malaya Students’ Union representative, Hema Shankari Kalidasan.
During the “Menstrual Hygiene is a Woman’s Right” campaign, KAO Laurier Malaysia and a group of university students helped out females within B40 communities by equipping them with proper sanitary products, as many of them could not afford to pay for it. Hence, all proceeds from the purchase of Laurier Night Safe from 15 November 2021 to 31 January 2022 totalled up to RM150,000 and were successfully donated to 20,000 young women in universities from all around Malaysia.
KAO Malaysia President, Mr Itou Hirofumi
KAO Malaysia President, Mr Itou Hirofumi, stated that “The synergy between KAO Laurier, MOHE and MyPerintis has been essential in realising the campaign’s vision to address any lack in access to menstrual hygiene essentials faced by young women in universities. We are encouraged to see Malaysians from all walks of life come forward, sharing our ‘Kirei’ vision to make life beautiful for all, by contributing through this campaign, effectively empowering underprivileged students to achieve their full potential as productive members of society.”
Considering that many B40 communities were heavily affected by financial distress regardless of pre or post-pandemic, many of the women who were affected by it admitted to using unhygienic alternatives such as toilet paper, rags and even newspapers to manage the menstruation process. Some unfortunate young girls were told to skip school which resulted in them missing out on education.
The ceremony was attended by Laurier Night Safe Brand Ambassador, Sweet Qismina; EMIR Research, Research Analyst, Amanda Yeo; KAO (Malaysia) Marketing Vice President, Tan Poh Ling; MyPerintis Founding Chairman, Dato’ Lawrence Low.
