Aunty, is it true that if a boy shakes my hand during my period, I’ll get pregnant?”
That innocent question stopped me in my tracks during one of our menstrual health outreaches in a rural community in Nigeria. The young girl who asked it was barely 12, her eyes wide with genuine fear. In that moment, I realized the depth of misinformation, shame, and silence that still surrounds menstruation in our communities.
It wasn’t just ignorance; it was a failure of access, a gap in education, and a reflection of how many girls grow up without safe spaces to learn about their own bodies. That moment inspired the innovation that would later become Ms. Flow — an AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot built by Abiodun Alabi for Motherhood NG Initiative to give every girl in Nigeria a trusted, judgment-free friend she can talk to about menstruation, anytime and anywhere.
