What would you tell your younger self?

Getting a period for the first time is a landmark moment for every girl. It marks the beginning of an entirely new stage. 

Womanhood. 

A stage that can often be confusing, scary and intimidating because of all the taboos that surround periods. Luckily, like most things in life, it gets a lot easier as we grow older and have new experiences. 

This International Women’s Day, Nana decided to take a look back at the moment when a girl becomes a woman, through the eyes of real women across the Arab world. We then asked them to share the lessons they learnt along the way with their younger selves. 

What resulted was a series of videos that were funny, touching and above all, honest. We were invited to take a rare glimpse into the lives of women who sometimes felt singled out, unsure and nervous because of their period, but grew more and more confident as they got older. 

Through the stories of the people we featured, we encouraged the younger members of our audience to build self-confidence, while making older members take a look back at their own experiences. 

The initiative succeeded in sharing an important message: every period and every reaction is normal, because it’s all going to be okay as we learn how to take it on fearlessly.