Worth Bleeding For: Part 2

Before I continue this second part of the Worth Bleeding For series, I'm guessing you're wondering, where does this title come from? On May 28th every year, the world commemorates a Menstrual Hygiene Day to call for an end to the stigma around menstruation in societies and cultures all over the globe. But as many nations come together to raise awareness of normalising conversations, some individual campaigns have taken more drastic approaches to help overcome the nightmares of period poverty, urging for the distribution of free menstrual products to revive school absences. The #worthbleedingfor campaign in South Africa, which kicked off in Johannesburg aims to make pads either affordable or completely free for women, as they believe access to sanitary products and adequate sanitation is a basic right as opposed to a luxury. A summary of the campaign is outlined below:

                                                                  Source: TRTWorld

Menstruation, despite being the natural process it is, encounters startling traditional views, norms and perceptions based on long-rooted cultures and superstitions. Most commonly, this natural phenomenon is faced with negative connotations such as evil spirit, shame and embarrassment. In some cases, women are viewed as impure and contaminated. In others, for example in Tanzania, depictions of curses settle if cloths stained with blood are seen by others. When applied to the experiences of girls at school, these same taboos impose indignity upon millions of adolescent girls, contributing to the shared inability and knowledge to manage menstruation effectively. Women and girls themselves remain uninformed about the menstrual cycle and how it's handled. A study in Ethiopia revealed that 27.7% of secondary school girls in Gedeo had very limited to no knowledge at all. So, this added knowledge gap, coupled with strongly held stigmas leave girls rather ashamed in school facilities, unaware of how to deal with the disposal of waste, or leakages in their clothes that may shed embarrassment among fellow male classmates. Therefore, the need for education targeted at both genders is crucial to generate equality, dignity, health and privacy. Schools in Ethiopia have therefore began gender clubs to bring students together on gender specific issues. In one instance where the gender club's activity was to make reusable sanitary pads for the many girls who were unable to afford single-use pads, boys were insisted on joining by the club leader, Simret Getaneh. By the end of the exercises, the boys reflected on the experience, stating they had enjoyed helping girls receive sanitary pads to allow them to focus on their studies. 

Menstrual hygiene solutions

Disposable sanitary towels are the most frequently used product for menstrual management. However, in greatly disadvantaged regions, these are highly expensive, leaving many unable to afford efficient amounts to last entire cycles, thus requiring them to turn to trade sex work in exchange for pads. Reusable options are therefore more economical as well as environmentally sustainable. Taking on this concept, the social enterprise, manufacturing reusable pads called Afripads is taking the lead in providing a cost effective solution in Uganda, as the pads are durable for up to 12 months and waste free. Additionally, as part of the enterprise's strategy to combat period stigmas, there is an emphasis to spark change through education via partnerships with relevant educating bodies such as Use and Care Materials and the MHH Education Curriculum. Finally, to tackle struggles in school facilities, Afripads have launched a new type of reusable pad for school goers, specifically designed to be lighter and dry at greater speed. 

But an even better, more long-term solution has been the rise of menstrual cups. The CUP Foundation was therefore founded with a grounded mission to provide sustainable menstrual cups and education to underprivileged women around the world. Their mission in Kenya managed to reach 15,000 girls between the ages of 11-16, who now feel more empowered, dignified and knowledgeable of their menstrual health.  However, menstrual cups still meets barriers with cultural perceptions of its use. Due to the method's highly invasive nature, requiring the cup to be inserted quite deeply, it may be seen as culturally inappropriate for adolescent girls. This may suggest why a study conducted on an intervention group comprised of three schools in Johannesburg, South Africa received a figure of 60% of the high-school girls not having tried or unwilling to try using menstrual cups. Another foundation called RubyCup aims to tackle the cultural myths of hymens, virginity, and menstrual cups in a special feature based on East Africa. The myth here lies along fears of the menstrual cup 'breaking their hymens', hence immediately indicating their loss of virginity. To address these apparent misconceptions, RubyCup aims to communicate and educate girls upon receiving the cup via workshops to explain the differentiation between hymen changes and virginity. Ideally, they are not linked as such since activities such as sports (biking, horse-riding etc) may also cause some stretches. Interestingly, this knowledge has been crucial in the future healthcare of women as it is these same cultural perceptions that previously restricted them from visiting gynaecologists, fearing they would 'lose their virginity' during examination. 

      

                                                                       Source: RubyCup          

Overall, the strongly embedded cultural and traditional frames of mind still persist today in African communities, inflicting hardships of menstrual management on women, many of whom are unaware of menstrual health themselves. But through the provision of education for both males and females and sustainable, affordable hygiene products, benefits may rapidly appear as a revolutionary start to break the prolonged menstrual taboo barriers once and for all.