“When the conflict broke out, I was two months pregnant. We were forced to flee and walk for days under the blazing sun."

Today, world leaders gathered in Paris to issue a rallying cry for women's rights. “In Beijing 26 years ago, the world made promises,” UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem said at the opening ceremony of the Generation Equality Forum. “It is now time to deliver.”

Anne Wanjiru found out she had gotten her first period when a boarding school classmate told her she had stained her dress. No one had ever explained menstruation to her, so the then-14-year-old, who had a congenital mobility disability and hearing impairment, did not understand why she felt discomfort and pain or why she was bleeding. “I didn’t even know how to wear a sanitary pad,” she said.” A teacher explained periods were normal, gave her underwear and pads, showed her to use them and checked on her every day.