We rarely talk in public about periods, but this is changing with Saturday's first-ever National Period Day.

On this day, people in all 50 states are rallying to highlight an invisible problem — period poverty. Many menstruators (not all people who menstruate are women; transgender men and non-binary people get their periods too) cannot access or afford essential items to manage their periods, like tampons and pads. This is in part because 35 states in the U.S. levy a sales tax on menstrual products, considering them non-essential.

Everyone, whether a menstruator or not, is welcome to join in on the rallies.

Nadya Okamoto, 21 years old, is leading the clarion call. Okamoto founded PERIOD, a youth-run nonprofit that supplies people with period products, when she was 16 years. She was drawn to the issue when she learned about period poverty while talking with people experiencing homelessness who couldn't afford menstrual products, as Mashable reported in 2018. Okamoto was a homeless teenager herself at the time.

🔴If faces were bleeding, someone would do something 🔴THIS SATURDAY is the first-ever #NationalPeriodDay. We're hosting rallies in all 50 states to demand menstrual equity and an end to the #tampontax. Find your local rally at https://t.co/kj1mxlVLqK. @SeventhGen @BBDOSF pic.twitter.com/qPxrRwlGuQ — PERIOD (@periodmovement) October 15, 2019

People took to the streets and microphones on National Period Day, with rallies scheduled to unfold throughout the day.

So proud to see Lilly speak at the National Period Day Rally in Philadelphia today!! Fighting to ensure that girls everywhere do not miss school as a result of period poverty - a lack of access to feminine hygiene products keeping them home from school. pic.twitter.com/lEoa5QOhzB — Dr. Kimberly Minor (@kkminor2) October 19, 2019

But the activism isn't just in person. The hashtag #NationalPeriodDay is trending on Twitter, giving a platform to this problem that has been ignored for far too long.

Nearly 1 in 2 low-income people who menstruate have had to choose between being able to afford a meal or menstrual hygiene products. Having a period with dignity shouldn't be a luxury. https://t.co/f1KRTI5QzU #NationalPeriodDay #MEforAll — NARAL (@NARAL) October 19, 2019

Real change will come when period products are readily accessible to ALL women & girls. Today on #NationalPeriodDay, we acknowledge that menstrual products are not a luxury, they're a necessity. #TamponTax & #PeriodPoverty must end! https://t.co/QnBihxqCc0 pic.twitter.com/YEorQ4R6Hn — Girls Inc. (@girls_inc) October 19, 2019

#DidYouKnow 1 in 5 American girls have missed school because they did not have period products. #Menstrual #justice is #education justice. It’s time to end #periodpoverty now by passing #ME4ALL! #NationalPeriodDay — Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) October 19, 2019

This problem isn't restricted to the U.S. and it isn't only about periods. Across Africa, 1 in 10 girls miss school because they don't have access to menstrual products, according to the international human rights organization ActionAid.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley isn't the only politician acknowledging the issue. Male legislators are joining in too.

In detention centers and in prisons, in big cities and small towns, women across America don’t have access to the period products they need. On #NationalPeriodDay, men need to join women in demanding real change—which is why I’m supporting the Menstrual Equity Act. — Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) October 19, 2019

Too many people don't have access to basic health needs like menstrual products. Whether due to lack of income, incarceration or gender identity, it's outrageous. Join @periodmovement for #NationalPeriodDay on 10/19 & support the fight for menstrual equity https://t.co/M532VyvIf7 — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) October 18, 2019

Every day, people are forced to choose between going to school or work, or staying home because they can’t afford the menstrual products they need.



Pads, tampons and cups should be available tax-free, across the nation.#NationalPeriodDay https://t.co/orIDdz1lPD — Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) October 19, 2019

Pressley, along with her progressive "Squad," consisting of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib, are co-sponsors of the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2019, a bill meant to tackle the challenges menstruators face when accessing and affording period products.

O'Rourke, Booker, and Castro are not listed as co-sponsors of the bill.

If made into law, states could use federal grant funds to provide students with free menstrual products in school, people who are incarcerated and detained on the federal, state, and local level would have access to a free and non-rationed supply of period products, and Medicaid would pay for menstrual products for Medicaid recipients.

Finally, periods are getting the attention they deserve and the world is hopefully realizing that menstruation is normal.