A community of optimists hosted by Melinda French Gates

Amika George is the founder of #FreePeriods, a campaign she started from her bedroom in 2017 when she was 17 years old.

Her aim is to eradicate period poverty in the UK, and globally, and to destigmatise menstruation. After leading a peaceful protest outside Downing Street, attended by over 2,000 people, Amika successfully persuaded the UK Government to pledge funds to tackle period poverty. She has since launched a legal campaign to allow equal access to education for all.

Amika is currently at Cambridge University. She is listed in TIME magazine as one the 25 most influential teenagers in 2018, and won the Goalkeepers award for #FreePeriods from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Q&A


What inspires you to do the work you do?

Knowing that my periods never held me back from getting a great education, and realizing that not everyone else is as fortunate.

If you could go on long walk with anyone, who would it be?

Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Please share a favorite quote.

“This is not a moment, it’s a movement.” This is my favorite line from Hamilton. It encourages me to keep fighting for everyone who is affected by period poverty.