BLACKSBURG — At 20 years old, Aarushi Khanna played a central role in getting new legislation passed in Virginia.
The Virginia Tech student is an ambassador for the Pad Project, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to menstrual products in places where supplies are limited, and to increasing education on women’s menstrual health.
Khanna was one of several activists who pushed for the passage of House Bill 1221, which would allow for all schools in Virginia to provide menstrual education as part as overall health instruction for students middle school-age and up.
For Khanna, who was also one of several people who gave testimony to the General Assembly in support of the legislation, the interest in menstrual equity issues started years ago.
“A few years ago, I did local donation drives with my mother back home,” Khanna said. “That experience really drove me to research and learn about the issue, and try to do something about it.”
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Through her volunteer work, Khanna said she realized there was a lot she did not know herself about proper women’s health care and menstruation. She decided to work toward bettering health education, and access to menstrual health products, in the U.S.
Khanna eventually connected with state Del. Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax County. When Khanna was looking for someone who would be most likely to sponsor a bill for menstrual education, she was told that Seibold would be her best option.
Seibold has been an activist for menstrual equity, even before being elected, and it was an issue on which she campaigned.
“I began to try to figure out why it is so hard for people to get access to menstrual health, or period health items, even here,” Seibold said. “They’re taxed heavily, they’re not available in schools or prisons, and I want to try to change that.”
HB 1221 was first drafted in early 2023. In March of this year, the legislation was passed by the Virginia House and Senate, and was recently signed into law by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
The expansion of education is an important step, but more work needs to be done, both in the U.S. and abroad, according to Khanna.
Khanna continues to work actively with the Pad Project, organizing donation drives for menstrual health products. Recently, she connected with another ambassador for the project, Gabiro Benedict, to send a large amount of donated material to Uganda. The donation is part of a larger collaboration for similar initiatives in Uganda.
Khanna also helped to produce a documentary film, along with the Pad Project, on “period poverty,” the ways in which people in poverty, abroad and in the U.S., face challenges when trying to get menstrual health supplies.
Khanna’s activism, and the work of other young people, helped lead to a legislative change in Virginia. Seibold gave a particular shout out to Khanna’s work as an example of what young people in the U.S. should be doing.
“We need more people like her, and like the other activists who testified,” Seibold said. “People who are willing to start a project like this, and to see the process through.”