Question about period poverty at school leads to a strong response from Demir

A question from Flemish MP Stephanie D’Hose (Open VLD) about the possible approach to menstrual poverty in schools met with an unexpectedly fierce response from Minister of Education Zuhal Demir on Thursday. D’Hose did not understand the outburst and was so shocked at the moment that she canceled her further questions.

The MPs from the Education Committee of the Flemish Parliament were able to fire all their questions about the education policy plans to Minister Demir on Thursday. The working agreement is that the minister will be given the time and space to respond during a subsequent session. But things went wrong with a rather innocent question from Stephanie D’Hose about period poverty.

When D’Hose noted that the word menstrual poverty was not in the policy document and she wanted to inquire about possible education plans around that problem, the minister began to make comments. At first, Demir simply said that the issue would be picked up by fellow Minister of Equal Opportunities Caroline Gennez, but she soon showed that she was not pleased with the question and that she thought there was far too much in the basket of education. is pushed. “You just have to dare,” she said. ‘You all say: “knowledge, knowledge, knowledge” and “the level is dropping”. And that, and that, and that…. you have to know what you want and make choices’.

D’Hose had little understanding for the minister’s outburst. ‘1 in 8 girls cannot afford sanitary towels and for 5 percent this is a reason to stay away from school. So when it comes to making choices, that might also be something to keep in mind,” said D’Hose, who afterwards stopped asking questions. “There’s no point this way.”