Menstruation is a natural phenomenon for girls and women until they attain the age of menopause. Sanitary towels are expensive in many countries which makes things difficult for many women and girls. Current campaign for reusable pads is fast gaining grounds, writes OYEBOLA OWOLABI.
In Nigeria and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, research has shown that girls are likely to miss as much as 20 per cent of their school year while some may drop out altogether. The loss of education means girls are more likely to be forced into child marriage.
Their health is also at risk because they are forced to use dirty rags which can cause infection. Risks can be greater if they have undergone Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
Depending on the flow and number of days, every lady uses at least a pack or two of pads during her menstrual period monthly. While some pads are packed in sevens, some are eight and others 10.
Also depending on the brand, pads cost between N300 and N1, 000 on the average. The implication of this is that on the average, ladies spend about N1, 500 or more monthly to avoid embarrassment during their flow periods.
Most girls stay away from school and social activities during their monthly flow because of reasons beyond their control. A 2018 UNICEF report notes that “lack of access to functional and segregated toilets, limited information on menstrual hygiene management and limited availability of sanitary materials to manage menstruation make it more difficult for girls to manage their periods.
“Sanitary pads are expensive and often inaccessible. Some girls resort to managing their periods with pieces of rags or paper which are often unhygienic and uncomfortable. Others ask for permission to leave school premises and many stay at home during their periods,” the report noted.
To help girls feel more comfortable and manage their menstrual periods better, and to cushion the effects of expensive disposable pads, many non-profits are seeking out cheap and hygienic alternatives which are readily available to the poor.
In 2018, UNICEF, with funding from Canada, trained 40 girls from four different high schools in Osun State. The week-long training included sessions on how to use sewing machines and locally sourced fabric to make hygienic sanitary materials.
The girls were also trained on how to use and maintain the re-usable pads. Eighty female students in Anambra and Katsina states were also trained in the production of re-usable sanitary pads.
The pads are made of cotton, they are washable and re-usable. Girls can use each pad for over 12 months. A set of about five pads cost about N450, a significantly cheaper price to the disposable ones. Materials for the pads are locally-sourced and girls find it easier to manage their periods during school hours and at home too.
“Meeting the hygiene needs of all adolescent girls is a fundamental issue of human rights, dignity and public health. This training is just the beginning.
Together with partners, UNICEF Nigeria aims to reach over 1,000 girls with these types of interventions,” said Job Ominyi, WASH Specialist at UNICEF Nigeria.
ActionAid trains women and girls to make safe, re-usable sanitary pads so they always have access to clean and affordable sanitary products. It also provides information about periods, sex and pregnancy so that girls are better informed about their bodies.
Nancy Muller, a Senior Programme Officer at PATH, said one of the biggest challenges in maintaining menstrual hygiene is the cost of disposable pads and improper sanitation or waste disposal system.
“At PATH, we’re exploring potential solutions that are appropriate and affordable. For example, we’ve been looking at ways to make a hybrid reusable pad less expensive, easier to wash, and quicker to dry. Maybe we could even package those with a booklet so girls could learn what’s happening when they start to menstruate.
“And another option that I’m excited about is the menstrual cup. These cups catch blood and can last for a decade. And they can be used for 10 to 12 hours at a stretch – a full school day. That could mean so much added potential for keeping girls in school,” she said.
PATH is a global team of innovators working to accelerate health equity so as to enable all people and communities to thrive.
The Pad Project is working with local partners and non-profit organisations to install machines that are easy to operate use locally-sourced natural resources to function and require minimal electricity.
Each machine employs six women and one supervisor, enabling them to produce pads for their communities for approximately $.05 each. Workers can decide how and where to sell their pads to create more economic opportunities.
It also created educational toolkits for middle school, high school, college and beyond which provide a structure to explore menstrual health and issues women and girls face the world over with respect to menstrual hygiene.
Free pads
Scotland, in 2019, committed another four million pounds to tackle period poverty. Free sanitary products are now available in more public places such as libraries and leisure centres after they were offered in schools, colleges and universities in August 2018.
The move stems from a pilot project announced by the Scottish government in July, 2017 that gave women and girls in low income households in Aberdeen free tampons and towels.
In Africa, Kenya and South Africa championed the cause. Botswana joined the league in 2017 when it passed a legislation to provide sanitary products to schoolgirls in both state and private schools.
“Government’s provision of sanitary pads to all schools would improve access to education in a country where many could not afford sanitary products such as pads,” said Member of Parliament Polson Majaga who tabled the motion.
Zambia also unveiled a programme to provide free sanitary pads for girls in rural and semi-urban areas.
In its 2017 budget, the programme provided for 14,000 girls from vulnerable households in different districts.
Read Also: Hayat Kimya launches Molped sanitary pads in Lagos
“In our country, like in many parts of Africa, reproductive health matters are treated as a taboo and with silence. This limits girls’ access to education as some fail to go to school due to lack of proper sanitary towels.
“In order to increase and retain attendance of girls in schools, the government will begin distributing free sanitary towels to girls in rural and semi-urban areas,” said then Finance Minister Felix Mutati.
Periods shouldn’t come with sacrifices. The ability to manage menstruation is not a luxury – it’s essential to enjoying the rights to health, water and sanitation, education, work and non-discrimination.
Gift a pad
In 2017, Austina Okpo started the Gift-a-Pad Campaign in Nigeria to help young and poor girls.
“I used the crowd-sourcing knowledge I had acquired from the Advanced Digital Changemaking Course I attended on WorldPulse and was able to generate funds enough to place a month supply of sanitary pads in the hands of 192 girls at a public high school in my community. But this is just a drop in the ocean, considering the number of girls who are yet to be reached,” she said.
Okpo uses her Gift-A-Pad Campaign to say every girl deserves Protective Appropriate Dressing (P.A.D) every month.
She reiterates that sex is a choice, menstruation is not, and if condoms are free, pads should be free too! She also wants the Nigerian government, and other third world countries, to pass laws that pads should be free for all girls of secondary school age.
Nneamaka Onyema, a lawyer, is also in the business of demystifying menstruation and ensuring that girls get affordable pads when the time comes. Through her ‘Embracing the Girl-Child’ non-profit organisation, Onyema is paying forward the kindness she received as a secondary school girl by distributing pads to secondary school girls and educating them on proper menstrual hygiene.
‘Embracing the Girl Child’ is an initiative of Linked Legal Attorneys which was aimed at providing legal representation, counselling and rehabilitation to victims of domestic violence. It is also to sensitise secondary school girls to career choices, puberty, sex education and menstrual hygiene, among other issues.
Onyema said: “Menstruation is a natural process. However, in most parts of the world, it remains a taboo and is rarely talked about. Almost always, there are social, cultural and religious norms or unwritten rules and practices about managing menstruation and interacting with menstruating women.
“Most striking is the restricted control which many women and girls have over their mobility and behaviour due to their ‘impurity’ during menstruation, including the myths, misconceptions, superstitions and taboos (cultural and/or religious) concerning menstrual blood and hygiene.
“It is also of great concern that the education of the girl concerning reproductive health, sexuality and all related issues is considered almost everywhere as a ‘no-go’ area.
“This, therefore, made it important to curb these norms and taboos associated with menstruation and educate the society on the need to nurture the girl child through puberty.”
Leave a Reply