Like the tick-tock of your inauspicious alarm clock, a woman or girl you know experiences her monthly menstruation, for the most part, unfailingly. For most females, this is a 28-day cycle, give or take a few days. The bleeding usually occurs on average for about five days, that she must bear quietly, without throwing tantrums, while struggling to ensure she goes through her day without visible blood stains drawing attention to her quiet, veiled travail.
Most females are acculturated to view menstrual blood stains as akin to committing a criminal offence. Knowing glances will be cast her way as though a blood stain is like wearing a transparent bracelet on her arm, filled with cocaine. Other types of bleeding draw sympathy and solidarity but not so the menstrual blood stain. Some women would hasten to warn the ‘offender’, some would shake their heads in opprobrium, teenagers may struggle to restrain a giggle or squeak, or may even joke about this predicament of girls. Her embarrassment would know no limits if this stain appeared in the context of a school gym or playground. But candidly, what makes menstrual bleeding so different from a knee-bleed or nosebleed?
sanitary pads used to illustrate the tory. [PHOTO CREDIT: Saathi Pads]
For a girl or woman, there is no respite, whether she is a student writing her final year medical examination, an engineer on a building site, an Olympic marathoner, a street cleaner or a smoked fish hawker on the traffic-ridden streets of mega Lagos. For all we know, she may be facing an interview panel for that UN job she has strategised and worked at for years, while preparing herself to achieve a competitive edge. She must carry herself with dignity, irrespective of the aches, the pains, the discomfort, which for some can be unnerving.
But the pain, discomfort and shame, aside, having the resources to even get through a period is another thing entirely.
In commemoration of the annual World Menstrual Health and Hygiene Day marked on May 28, Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen announced that “It is worthy to mention that some ministries through advocacy, are unveiling their Pad Banks, to cater for cases of emergency within their work environment”. This is worthy of note within the backdrop that countrywide, access to sanitary towels, especially in low-income settings, including the proliferating IDP camps across the country, is a present emergency; with more females resorting to using pieces of cloth (rags) and toilet paper in lieu of sanitary towels. During a recent research I conducted, I found that in such settings in the centre of the Lagos metropolis, some girls use foam in place of sanitary towels!
A 2018 report notes rightly that “sanitary pads cost an average of $1.30 per pack, meanwhile a large number of families live below the poverty threshold of $1.20 per day” (The Guardian, December 13, 2018). Sadly, the report points to missed school days for girls due to the inability to cope with menstrual hygiene needs.
Oftentimes, when Nigeria’s alarming inflation rate is discussed, we hear lamentations over the falling naira value in comparison with the US dollar, and we hear about the hike in prices of commodities like washing powder, foodstuffs, milk, soap, diesel, but we hardly hear any mention of the astronomical rise in the price of an essential commodity like the sanitary towel.
Asked what they considered most critical to supporting their urgent menstrual hygiene needs. A respondent said: “One of the things that can be done is the provision of sanitary towels for girls and women in the community who are in dire need of it. The community leaders can identify those in this category. There are some who even use tissue paper which is not even of good quality.”
There are other factors that make menstruation a harrowing experience. For instance, women and girls cannot dare to ask for sick leave; for menstrual pain? Are you kidding? Furthermore, depending on the realities of her living condition (her class, place of residence), the lack of access to safe water and sanitation that is meant to be her human right, further exacerbates her situation. During focus group discussions on menstrual hygiene with girls aged 10-18 years recently in a low-income setting in Lagos, I was beguiled by their openness and transparency in describing their sometimes near ridiculous encounters with menstruation challenges amidst, sometimes, embarrassed laughter and sarcasm.
For example, in response to the question, “do you have problems disposing of sanitary towels?”, I got responses like: “most times I get scared of disposing of it”. Why on earth would a young girl be scared of disposing her used towels? We are not talking about going out to use a shared toilet in the dead of the night when a woman or girl may require a bodyguard; or even journeying on the highway and being worried about running into bandits and terrorists and other scary stuff in Nigeria these days. What scares you? “Because it is money for the ritualists.” What? Ritualists and sanitary towels? Haba! The unorthodox methods that the young people devise for disposing of sanitary towels “safely” is a story for another day.
“You said you don’t have water today, what happens when you don’t have water during your period? Her answer: “I will buy pure water for ten naira”. For those who are unacquainted with the term ‘pure water,’ it refers to water packaged in 30cl nylon sachets commonly sold across the country and well received because of widespread availability and low cost, rather than any certainty about the purity of the contents, given the proliferation of brands offering this product in Nigeria.
Asked what they considered most critical to supporting their urgent menstrual hygiene needs. A respondent said: “One of the things that can be done is the provision of sanitary towels for girls and women in the community who are in dire need of it. The community leaders can identify those in this category. There are some who even use tissue paper which is not even of good quality.”
The respondent further observed on a rather pessimistic note that: “Even if this project is embarked upon for six months, the supplier would be tired. Even if other countries can do this year in, year out, can it be achieved in Nigeria? They might try for a while after which they would stop.”
In Nigeria, we look forward to an announced forthcoming podcast on menstrual health anchored by Funke Treasure and titled “My Period Stories”, whose expected launch date is July. We also expect a more positive response from private companies, government, as well as the non-profit sector, within the spectrum of policies and programmes implementable.
Certainly, the provision of menstrual hygiene materials in a few offices of government for their workers is a step in the right direction, but in terms of meeting actual needs, it is the barest, negligible tip of the iceberg.
The non-profit theperiodpurse.com operates out of Canada and has initiated several projects aimed at achieving menstrual equity by providing free menstrual products and reducing stigma through public education. Some countries are taking even bolder steps. In May this year, a draft law in Spain (yet to be approved by the cabinet) provides sick leave for workers experiencing period pain, so long as they can produce a doctor’s report to support this. A report by The Swaddle on May 19 quoted Spain’s Equality Minister, Irene Montero, who observed that: “It’s an end to working in pain and popping pills.” We pray that it is approved.
Some Asian countries seem to be leading in the provision of menstrual leave, with Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan having already taken the initiative to offer different levels of flexibility and benefits for affected women. In Africa, Zambia is the only county that has so far taken the bold step to provide a one-day menstrual leave for women that is paid for. While it is not an official policy of the Government of India, India Times (October 26, 2021) reported that up to 12 companies (including Zomato, Swiggy and Culture Machine) offer one or two days of menstrual leave to their employees. Responsible brands can on their own initiative offer a more equitable working space to female employees, so they do not labour while beleaguered with menstrual pain.
In Nigeria, we look forward to an announced forthcoming podcast on menstrual health anchored by Funke Treasure and titled “My Period Stories”, whose expected launch date is July. We also expect a more positive response from private companies, government, as well as the non-profit sector, within the spectrum of policies and programmes implementable.
Arit Oku, a gender and development specialist, writes from Lagos.
