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What were you doing when you were 18? While most of us probably have hazy memories of nights out in Magaluf, Amika George is fighting for rights to free sanitary products for disadvantaged teenage girls.

The A Level student began her campaign, aptly named #FreePeriods, in April this year after reading a report that stated there were girls across the UK who were living in such crippling levels of poverty that they could not afford menstrual products during their period.

A phenomenon known as ‘period poverty’, which was once prevalent in third world countries has become more commonplace in the UK of late as more young women struggle to be able to afford sanitary products – a basic need for women on their period.

“I had absolutely no idea that it was happening in the UK, that girls as young as 10 were routinely missing school because they weren’t able to access protection,” the north London resident told the Standard. “It seemed abhorrent to me that there were children creating almost primitive, makeshift solutions such as socks stuffed with stolen toilet paper, or newspaper and I was disgusted that no help was being given to them.

“These children would face enormous anxiety while sitting in lessons, fearful that they’d bled onto their uniform, so the easiest solution was often simply to miss school. It was clear to me that missing lessons means falling further behind in academic progress, and these children find they are such a long way off from attaining their goals and ambitions, all because they bleed.”

This report sparked something in Amika who began researching deeper into the topic and launched her campaign which petitions the UK Government to give free sanitary products to children on free school meals.

She explained: “To me, this seemed logical, as these are the ones who are from families that are facing real financial challenges, who have been means-tested already.

“Many of these families depend on food banks to be able to eat. For them, period protection is so far down the list of priorities that it’s an unattainable luxury.”

As the government already has a list of children on the free school meals, Amika says they know who these families are that may need extra help and hence can begin to implement a system that ensures these children have no impediments to learning.

Luxuries equivalent to the 18k women spend on periods in a lifetime 6 show all Luxuries equivalent to the 18k women spend on periods in a lifetime 1/6 20 Mulberry Bayswater bags Alexa Chung’s favourite handbag in a classic oak hue costs a splurge-worthy £895 to buy - but you could buy 20 with your £18k budget Getty 2/6 A night in the Apartment at The Connaught, London If you’re looking for a less practical luxury to splurge your money on, you could blow it all on a night at Mayfair's premier penthouse suite - with lofty living spaces, a luxury four-poster bed and roaring fires to boot. 3/6 A Tiffany engagement ring (with £5000 spare to spend on the wedding band) A refund on a lifetime of sanitary products is equivalent to being able to buy Tiffany's Soleste ring - a brilliant diamond encircled by a double row of bead-set diamonds... with a cool 5K to spare on a complementary wedding ring. Tiffany 4/6 A Bente 24 boat Doing away with periods for good could get you your own personal Bente boat. Sailing around the coast or making a lifetime of trips to Boots? We know which one we’d choose... Bente 5/6 25 Iphone 6 Plus handsets Liable to losing your phone? you can buy 25 32G iPhone 6 Plus back up handsets with change to spare. Getty 6/6 A Tibetan Mastiff and Samoyed puppy (two of the world’s most expensive breeds) £18k will get you two of the most and expensive and coveted breeds in the world - a Tibetan Mastiff can cost up to £7,000 while a thoroughbred Samoyed can set you back £10,000. Getty 1/6 20 Mulberry Bayswater bags Alexa Chung’s favourite handbag in a classic oak hue costs a splurge-worthy £895 to buy - but you could buy 20 with your £18k budget Getty 2/6 A night in the Apartment at The Connaught, London If you’re looking for a less practical luxury to splurge your money on, you could blow it all on a night at Mayfair's premier penthouse suite - with lofty living spaces, a luxury four-poster bed and roaring fires to boot. 3/6 A Tiffany engagement ring (with £5000 spare to spend on the wedding band) A refund on a lifetime of sanitary products is equivalent to being able to buy Tiffany's Soleste ring - a brilliant diamond encircled by a double row of bead-set diamonds... with a cool 5K to spare on a complementary wedding ring. Tiffany 4/6 A Bente 24 boat Doing away with periods for good could get you your own personal Bente boat. Sailing around the coast or making a lifetime of trips to Boots? We know which one we’d choose... Bente 5/6 25 Iphone 6 Plus handsets Liable to losing your phone? you can buy 25 32G iPhone 6 Plus back up handsets with change to spare. Getty 6/6 A Tibetan Mastiff and Samoyed puppy (two of the world’s most expensive breeds) £18k will get you two of the most and expensive and coveted breeds in the world - a Tibetan Mastiff can cost up to £7,000 while a thoroughbred Samoyed can set you back £10,000. Getty

Since beginning her campaign, Amika has spoken to girls who are going through their period with just one tampon. If a tampon is left in for too long it can cause major health issues like toxic shock syndrome.

Amika added: “[The girls] daren’t ask their parent for money because they know there just isn’t any, and often we are talking about very young children here. Menstrual products can be picked up for a pound, and I’ve had people saying to me ‘who can’t afford a pound ?’ but this demonstrates a real lack of understanding of the extent of poverty that exists in the UK today.”

A report by Meghan Markle (yes, that Meghan Markle) for TIME magazine revealed when a girl misses school because of her period, cumulatively this puts her behind her male classmates by 145 days. Globally, 113 million girls in India between 12 and 14 are at risk of dropping out of school because they can’t access adequate protection for their period, which means something their body does naturally is stopping these girls from enjoying the same equal learning platform that their male counterparts do.

Amika’s campaign, which you can find on Change.org, already has in excess of 80,000 signatures with the goal being to reach 150,000.

“The ideal result is for the Government to make a statutory pledge to provide free menstrual products to girls who need them but my campaign is two-pronged in that I’m working to smash the ridiculous, gender-biased taboo surrounding periods,” Amika explained.

“We need to normalise conversations around menstruation- that’s so important! There are lots of fantastic organisations working to end the stigma and it's working.

“We need to embrace our periods and understand that our bodies should be celebrated for all the wonderful things they do. Talking in hushed tones is simply not necessary! We also need much more education about menstruation. Girls often find that when they get their period, they’re not equipped with enough knowledge to understand what’s normal and what’s not, or even how to cope with the bleeding.”

Just eight months into her campaign and Amika has already received an overwhelming amount of support. The high school student even gave her first TEDx talk on the campaign last month and says juggling homework, exams, university applications, speaking engagements, meetings and campaigning is not easy.

But Amika is determined to fight the good fight until we hear that a statutory pledge has been made to end period poverty in the UK.

How can you get involved in the #FreePeriods campaign?

Amika has organised a peaceful protest to take place on Wednesday December 20 from 5-8pm at Parliament Square in London, encouraging everyone that comes to wear red and stand up for the disadvantaged children that can’t do so themselves. YouTube superstar Tanya Burr has been confirmed as one of the speakers at the protest and it is a call for Theresa May and the government to take action on period poverty in the UK.

You can also sign the #FreePeriods petition here, and head to their website where you can find details of the protest, sign up to the newsletter and email and tweet Education Secretary Justine Greening.

To find out more about Amika’s campign and #FreePeriods, visit the website freeperiods.org.