A father from the United Kingdom has reached over 50,000 signatures after creating a petition inspired by his daughter who missed school due to severe menstrual cramps.
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Marcu Alleyne created the petition after one of his daughters, aged 13, had to miss school due to painful period cramps on Sept. 22. He said her school listed her absence as an “unauthorized” one after he didn’t disclose his daughter’s condition to the school’s administration. “The reason for not divulging the details of the condition is because I was doing so on behalf of my thirteen-year-old daughter, who is not only capable of making her own informed decisions as to what information is shared with others but I would not freely discuss my daughter’s health needs without her consent. Frankly, schools should not be requiring such information either, they are not medical professionals, nor would they fully understand the full extent or severity of any condition through a phone call,” Alleyne wrote on the Change.org petition page.
The father of two also noted how female, trans, and non-binary students are often ignored while expressing their discomfort in an educational setting.
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“It is also a known fact that for centuries this recurring cycle has been seen as a weakness by many, particularly by men, and has resulted in decades of inequality, disparity and inequity for women and those who might be necessarily identified as female but still suffer on a regular basis. We are seeing this in action still, presenting through absence policies and school assemblies.”
As of this reporting, Alleyne’s petition has reached over 67,000 signatures and the goal is set for 75,000.
SOURCE: COMPLEX