Why we need to talk about menstruation
Almost half of the world's population menstruates, has menstruated or will menstruate. And yet, the topic still carries many taboos around the world. As an important component of sexual and reproductive health, the topic of menstruation directly affects the work and concerns of Women's Hope. In t this article we want to break with the stigma and report about the topic and how we deal with it in our daily project work.
Period poverty presents mensturating girls and women with numerous challenges.
Every month, millions of girls and women face the major challenge of managing their periods with dignity. This is because they have limited access to water and sanitation facilities, they cannot afford adequate menstrual products, and there are no suitable disposal structures or pain treatments. This so-called period poverty affects an estimated 500 million girls and women worldwide - with far-reaching physical, social and economic impacts on the lives of menstruating women:
Increased health risks due to the use of unsanitary products:
Newspapers, cloth scraps, or even leaves increase the risk of reproductive and urinary tract infections - especially in areas where there is no clean water.
Negative impact on mental health:
Many girls are absent during their period not only for lack of adequate period items or due to pain, but also for fear of being teased by classmates and teachers.
School and work absences:
The lack of clean toilets leads to many absences from school. In Bangladesh, 1 in 4 girls do not go to school during their period in Bangladesh, and one-third of them are absent for more than 3 days at a time. This increases the likelihood that girls will leave school early and without graduating.
An estimated 1.9 billion people worldwide menstruate - and yet it is not a topic of public health discourse.
Cultural stigmas and taboos worsen period poverty
Numerous stigmas and taboos still determine the public discourse around menstruation. The fact that menstruation is usually not clearly named but paraphrased is a clear indication of this. It is mostly associated with disgust and shame. In many places, menstruating girls and women are considered dirty and impure.
Many girls do not know what is going on in their bodies when they get their period for the first time. They are also unaware of what menstruation means for their future and their reproductive health and rights.
In northern Bangladesh, menstruating women are not allowed to be in the kitchen or participate in religious practices - for fear of contamination.
Education is important to counteract stigmas and increase the self-confidence of menstruating women. This makes it easier for them to make informed decisions about their bodies. Only then will they no longer be disadvantaged by their period and be able to participate fully in social life.
What we do
Menstrual health is not a separate focus area in Women's Hope's work, but it is an important component of our holistic approach to sexual and reproductive health. The distribution of menstrual products is always linked to awareness-raising work - for example in the project to eliminate child marriages in Bangladesh and in the project to strengthen mother-child health in Chad:
Bangladesh: In the "Safe Spaces" in the project against child marriages, girls can buy sanitary pads at half price. In addition, the girls are informed about menstruation, contraception and the consequences of child marriage in workshops and through books and brochures, and they can exchange views on the topics.
Chad: Every family receives a birth kit after giving birth in one of the supported health centers. Among other things, it contains reusable sanitary pads for the mothers - a necessary hygiene product after the birth and beyond, which the women in the remote Ouaddaï region in the east of the country cannot buy.
The reusable pads in the birth kits in Chad are made by a local women's collective.
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Cover picture: Women in the waiting house for high-risk pregnant Attat ; Image: Hanspeter Baertschi
Our project work on the topic of menstruation
Bangladesch: Ending Child Marriage
Girls should be able to decide for themselves when and whom they marry. Girls who are already married should be able to lead healthy, self-determined lives and have a say in family planning. Communities are sensitized and mobilized on the issue of child marriages.
Chad: Strengthened mother-child health care through involvement of village communities
Women in the Abougoudam Health District have reproductive health care available to them and are empowered to demand it.