We believe in a world where women don’t use tent pieces, dirty rags or leaves to manage their period.

For centuries, women and girls have faces discrimination and exclusion and today, they remain amongst the most deeply affected by poverty, conflict, and natural disasters. As the primary caregivers in their families, their sacrifices go unseen and uncounted. And managing their periods - an essential part of health and dignity - remains a luxury or impossibility for more than half a billion women worldwide. According to the UN Women, “stigma, the high cost of menstrual products, and lack of water and sanitation facilities drive period poverty around the world.”

This is not right.

At FIHRI, we are dedicated to changing this reality by connecting women and girls with compassionate people who care. Through our signature period pouches - filled with essential products and adorned with supportive and loving messages - we have already delivered dignity and hope to 20 countries.

But our work is far from being done. We are just getting started: our goal is to continue reaching more women and girls, breaking the silence around periods, and widening our global impact.

Our Mission

Period poverty is a global crisis — and it shows up everywhere. In local shelters. In refugee camps. In classrooms. In disaster zones.

The Fihri Foundation exists to meet women and girls in those moments — the hard ones, the overlooked ones — and ensure that something as natural as a period never robs them of their dignity, health, or future.

We place menstrual products into the hands of those who need them most, across the U.S. and in 20+ countries worldwide. Because no matter where you are or what you are facing, you should never have to face your period alone.

Dignity is not a luxury. It is a right.

Meet Our Founder

As a mother, my heart broke the moment I heard it: eighth grade girls were teaching sixth graders how to fold toilet paper into pads because they had nothing else.

As an advocate, I recognized this wasn't just about products — it was about equity and opportunity. And as a survivor of the 1999 earthquake in Türkiye that killed 17,000 people, I knew firsthand that in moments of crisis, basic human needs don't pause. Periods don't stop during earthquakes, floods, poverty, or conflict. And neither should dignity.

That realization lit a fire in me.

I founded FIHRI so no girl would ever have to use toilet paper or scraps to manage her period. What began with a single conversation has grown into a global movement — delivering sustainable period kits to women and girls across the U.S. and in 20+ countries facing disaster, poverty, and conflict.

Because FIHRI exists for one reason: to ensure that every girl, everywhere, has the dignity, health, and opportunity she deserves.

— Ceylan Rowe, Founder

Fatima al-Fihri was a visionary woman who founded the University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco, in 859 CE. This university is recognized by UNESCO and Guinness World Records as the oldest educational institution in the world that has been continuously operating since inception.