5 Women Who Changed The Way You Have Your Period

It's Rag Week and we're taking on possibly the world's strangest taboo – the tradition of not talking about periods, a near-universal female experience. Rag Week is a time for all of us to bring period talk out in the open and celebrate how far we've come. All these conversations lead back to one question, though: Why have we kept quiet about it for so long?

We want to shine a light on those women who were brave enough to combat the silence around periods, when most of society didn't want to hear it. These women changed the world, and changed the way that most women today experience their periods. They are only a few of many, most of whom have been lost to history. We need to take care that the impact of these women on our monthly bleed – from how doctors treat menstruation to how we insert our tampons – is never forgotten.

Click through to see the women who pioneered the way we experience our periods.