Lindiwe Nkuna-Kgopa, the founder and CEO of Lindiwe Sanitary Pads and the 2026 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award winner.
The lack of free and accessible menstrual products represents a systemic failure rather than a mere oversight, especially in a world where public restrooms routinely supply soap and toilet paper.
This global, silent epidemic known as period poverty continually prevents girls from attending school and hinders adults from entering the workforce.
Lindiwe Nkuna-Kgopa, the founder and CEO of Lindiwe Sanitary Pads, was raised in an environment where menstruation was a hushed topic, managed entirely in solitude.
She shared: “You can hand a girl a pad, but if she still believes her body is something to be ashamed of, you haven't actually freed her.”
