There might be a period emoji coming, and it’s for a good cause

Astonishingly enough, we still live in a world where most women feel ashamed talking about their period. Some don’t even have access to menstrual hygiene products. That’s why a campaign has just been launched to create a period emoji, thanks to Plan International UK and Plan Australia. In an attempt to reduce stigma around period and menstrual health, these organizations want to give people the chance to explain all their period woes with a simple emoji.

More than just giving people a fun emoji to play with, though, this campaign is centered on raising money and awareness to support young women around the world who don’t have the chance to take care of their periods in a healthy way. In fact, last year in Nepal, a 15-year-old girl suffocated to death because she was forced to sleep in a hut when she was menstruating. Period stigma has a much more serious effect on women than you might think.

Plan International has designed five different period emojis so far—and it’s up to the public to decide which one will be created.

Visit the Plan International Australia Facebook page or the Plan UK campaign website to vote for your favorite, and make sure you vote by Friday, June 2nd.

The most popular period emoji will be submitted to the Unicode Consortium for consideration. If it’s approved, we’ll see it on our keyboards in 2018. Plan International has vowed to help girls everywhere find the help they need to be have healthy periods. Because there’s nothing about your menstruation to be ashamed of.