About the Author
Cynthia Pokuah, a self proclaimed Period Enthusiast, is dedicated to making an impact to the lives of young girls around the world. She was motivated to write this book after being part of FORWARD's TuWezeshe Akina Dada Fellowship.
TuWezeshe Akina Dada, which is Swahili for ‘empowering our sisters’, is a feminist leadership programme seeking to inspire a generation of young African women to engage in the civil and political spheres and galvanise collective action against all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Through the Fellowship, Cynthia carried out a series of workshops for young girls aged between 11-15. This is where she discovered that many girls has very limited knowledge on menstruation and menstrual hygiene. ‘Something is Different This Morning’ is therefore a product of Cynthia’s determination to challenge the social stigma surrounding menstruation and educate young girls about their periods and menstrual hygiene.
Outside of the Fellowship, Cynthia has always been interested in issues that affect women and girls, especially in Africa. In 2018, she took a 3 month trip to Uganda where she volunteered at a grassroots, female-led charity that worked with women and girls living in poverty called Women In Leadership (WIL Uganda).
Here she delivered workshops was to educate communities about their sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR). The workshops also included topics such as menstruation, contraception, sex and HIV. Cynthia also had the opportunity to go into schools once a week to conduct mini workshops with a number of youths, mostly girls, discussing topics ranging from literacy, dating violence and most importantly, menstruation.
Cynthia is determined to make the book reach as many young girls so that young girls are inspired, empowered and able to confront the taboo, all to end period stigma.