Ekibadha: Our Periods Matter

Regarding strategies to cope with menstruation, these are highly varied between and within countries and depend on an individual’s resources, economic status, cultural beliefs, local traditions, knowledge, education or personal preferences. Some of these factors can act as barriers which lead to unhygienic or inconvenient menstrual management, especially in low-income settings. Numerous studies have found the widespread use of unsanitary absorbents, as well as inadequate washing and drying of reused sanitary products across the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia (Sumpter, C et al, 2013). Moreover, cleaning of clothes is often done without soap or with unclean water and drying is done indoors rather than in open air as a result of restrictions and taboos. These issues are particularly prevalent in rural areas and women and girls in lower socio-economic groups (Sumpter, C et al, 2013).

Certain social and cultural implications of menstruation affect women and girl’s lives on a global scale. For instance, in some cultures, girls are viewed as marriageable once they begin their menses and the sexual and “disgust” connotations liked to it make menstruation a taboo subject for girls to discuss (Sumpter, C et al, 2013). Social effects of ineffective menstrual hygiene management (MHM) can result in exclusion from everyday tasks (e.g touching water, cleaning, cooking, socialising, sleeping at home, attending religious ceremonies).

In a study looking at Ugandan schoolgirl’s MHM practices, it was found that 90.5% of girls did not meet available criteria for adequate MHM. Consequences of inadequate MHM included feelings of shame, not standing in class to answer questions and concerns about odour (Hennegan, J et al, 2016).