Period poverty remains a global issue that interferes with the education of millions of girls yet is under-reported because of the stigma associated with it.
This is according to research by I_Menstruate, which further proves that there is consensus to urgently eradicate period poverty in line with more than five UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 on good health, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, and poverty more broadly.
The 11th day of October serves as the International Day of the Girl Child, and this year it is commemorated under the theme Invest in Girls Rights: Our leadership, Our Wellbeing.
The day also serves to mobilise and advance the rights of girls around the world, and further zooms in on the need to address challenges that girls face.
It also promotes the empowerment of girl children and takes a close look at period poverty as a lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, waste management, and education.
In a statement Jacqueline Utamuriza-Nzisabira, I_menstruate African regional adviser on HIV and gender, said: “I find it truly an injustice that a biological reality stops a girl from achieving what her peers are achieving.
“To me, it’s the most appalling kind of an injustice you can ever have. How can a natural effect stop the trajectory of a girl in this day and age?” asked Utamuriza-Nzisabira.
I Menstruate has quickly responded to Utamuriza-Nzisabira’s concerns by releasing its grassroots research titled Bleeding in Silence.
The study was conducted on 542 learners from grade eight to 10 and staff members from 18 different schools.
The group said: “We focused on access to menstrual hygiene products, access to menstrual education, supplementary materials used during their periods, disposal of menstrual hygiene products, and their general experiences and solutions to alleviate the challenges they face during their periods. We also engaged with school staff.”
The I_Menstruate group’s key findings from learners were:
● 83% of girls do not have regular access to menstrual hygiene products at school and home.
● 17% of girls who need to change and dispose of sanitary products don’t have adequate toilets and sanitary facilities at school and home.
● 25% of girls miss significant school days affecting their education.
● 75% of girls felt stressed, afraid, hurt, embarrassed, lonely and helpless at menarche because they didn’t know what was happening.
● 89% of schools do not provide menstrual hygiene products to girl learners on a regular basis.
● Schools access to menstrual hygiene products (mostly sanitary pads) from government (33%), NGOs and private companies (50%), while two schools (17%) had no access at all.
● 94% of schools provide some form of menstrual education which is covered through life orientation in grade 10 and 11, this is typically after many girls had already experienced their first periods.
● None of the schools were aware of government’s sanitary dignity framework policy which aims to give women and girls the right to dignity, recognising that the ability to effectively manage menstruation is essential to human rights.
According to the findings, the group concluded that period poverty affects schooling time, as girl children who are on periods often stay away from school.
The study further shows that education around menstruation is insufficient and often too late.
