Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual advocacy, awareness and sensitization day that is used by government agencies, non-governmental organizations, the media and individuals to create awareness about menstruation as well as to highlight the importance of menstruation and hygiene and to help in breaking the silence, stigma, taboos and negative assumptions around menstruation and to further promote menstrual hygiene management to women and girls of reproductive age. It is also an opportunity for adolescent girls to get to learn more about their bodies and understand the significance/importance/meaning of menstrual hygiene management for their health and well-being.
The day is used as a platform every year to also dispel the myths and negative assumptions as well as the opportunity to educate, women and girls of reproductive age on the importance of menstruation, to support and encourage them to talk freely about the subject and to create an enabling environment where women and girls will be proud to menstruate hygienically, with safety, confidence and dignity.
According to Global Glow, the 28 was set aside to recognize that 28 days is the average length of the menstrual cycle and more than 500 million women worldwide before the COVID-19 pandemic lack menstrual products to manage menstruation which has worsened period related challenges of a lot of women and girls all over the world during the pandemic, hence the need for support.
Menstrual Hygiene Management and Challenges
This is the ability to manage menstruation conveniently using clean menstrual materials with soap and water for bathing and washing, in a safe environment, hygienically with confidence and dignity. Women and girls come across various challenges such as inadequate or lack of menstrual products to use during their period. The secrecy related to menstruation has limited/restricted lots of women and adolescent girls and denied them access to important information about their health and well-being which is directly affecting their health, dignity and human right.
Negative assumptions and taboos around menstruation
Although there are so many negative assumptions, misconceptions and taboos surrounding menstruation, it is totally normal. In Nigeria, menstruating women and girls are being restricted in performing certain religious rites and a lot of them have been misinformed with some myths and negative belief which are still existing today. It is believed that a menstruating woman is not allowed/suppose or should not sleep with her husband, prepare a meal/cook, pray/enter a temple, or touch a new born baby because menstruation seen as dirty, impure or unclean, and unholy.
There are so many cultural taboos associated with menstruation, for example, The cultural and unfair treatment towards menstruating women and girls is alarming/shocking, in Mali, the Dogon tribe force/compel women and girls to stay in a separate hut, they are isolated from other people during their period. The Hindu tribe in India forbids menstruating women and girls from entering into religious places, touching food such as prickle and are also prohibited from touching water pots which implies that menstruating women and girls are therefore, contaminated and therefore are banished from public places.
Poor menstrual hygiene management may result to reproductive health problems and a lasting consequence if not properly treated. Knowledge about menstrual hygiene management is not only important but necessary for the health and well-being of women and girls around the world. When women and girls are better informed with the right information about menstruation, it will help them take responsibility of their sexual health and erase the negative assumptions. Girls of reproductive age that are less privileged cannot afford a disposable pad considering its cost in the market and that is why we at HAFAI is working tirelessly to improve the lives, health and well-being of women and girls across the country with health education, sensitization and with access to reusable pads.
There are so many cultural taboos associated with menstruation, for example, The cultural and unfair treatment towards menstruating women and girls is alarming/shocking, in Mali, the Dogon tribe force/compel women and girls to stay in a separate hut, they are isolated from other people during their period. The Hindu tribe in India forbids menstruating women and girls from entering into religious places, touching food such as prickle and are also prohibited from touching water pots which implies that menstruating women and girls are therefore, contaminated and therefore are banished from public places.
HAFAI in partnership with Global GLOW commemorated this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day, MHD on May 28, 2022 with theme; “We Are Committed” at Kabusa Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp with sensitization on the causes, treatment and prevention of menstrual health complications and problems. The girls were also trained on how to use, maintain and produce HAFAI reusable pad to manage their period which can last up to 2 years if used & maintain properly instead of using all kinds of dirty and unhygienic materials which may cause infection and infertility if not treated properly. During the activities, participants learnt about their bodies, menstruation, menstrual cycle and the use of menstrual bead which they created and wore in solidarity to maintain good hygiene during menstruation. They made different kinds of drawings depicting that menstruation is normal, not dirty and how proud they are as girls that menstruate. Furthermore, participants asked questions during the question-and-answer session; questions such as: the causes of menstrual cramps, heavy flow, blood clot during menstruation were discussed during the program.
15-year-old Jamila (Pseudo-name) from Kabusa IDP camp, Abuja is one of the beneficiaries, she has been using rags/pieces of clothe to manage her period and now feels comfortable/free to talk about menstruation with her friends after the program. Jamila was excited to receive a reusable pad that will help her manage her period properly.
During the program, girls and women learnt that menstruation does not mean maturity for marriage. They also learnt that menstrual pads are to be changed frequently after every 3 to 4 hours in order to avoid having infection. Over 150 women and girls in attendance received certificate of participation, HAFAI reusable pad, and refreshment and pictures were taken at the end of the program.
