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FRR Packs > From period poverty to period parity: Keeping girls safe and happy

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Menstruation is a natural part of women and girl’s reproductive cycle in which menstrual blood is lost through the vagina. This loss of blood occurs, on average, for two to seven days during a menstrual cycle. Menstrual cycles can occur every 21-35 days during reproductive age. In many parts of the world, menstruation is a taboo subject, and, as a result of religious and traditional beliefs, may be seen as embarrassing, shameful, and “dirty.”

Such stigma means that many adolescent girls may not be prepared for their periods or understand how to manage them. According to The World Bank, at least 500 million women and girls globally lack adequate materials for managing menstrual hygiene, including sanitary towels or tampons, soap and water, and also lack facilities to change, clean, and dispose of hygiene products. It is very important that young girls know how to manage their menstrual cycle before their first period. This requires that girls have access to age appropriate and timely information. Unfortunately, they do not receive good information about menstrual hygiene due to lack of resources and social constraints that make talking about these issues difficult.

Inaccurate information or lack of information on how to properly manage menstruation can lead to poor hygiene practices during menstruation, which can result in illness and missing school. According to a 2014 report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, one out of every 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa misses school during their menstrual cycle. UNESCO researchers also found that better sanitary care and reproductive health education for girls improves attendance.

In this program, we hear what action is being taken in Kenya and Uganda on menstrual health and hygiene. We speak with Florence Kamaitha of Pad Heaven and Geoffrey Businge of AFRIpads about their washable and reusable pads, as well as how they are providing girls with information on menstruation. We also hear from two young Kenyan girls named Quinter and Lucy, who cannot enjoy school activities because they do not have access to proper sanitary pads.

If you want to produce a similar program about menstrual health concerns such as the “period poverty” shown in this script, you could use this script as a guide. If you decide to present the script on your regular program, you could use voice actors or radio hosts to represent the interviewees. In this case, please inform your audience at the beginning of the program that these are the voices of voice actors, not the actual interviewees.

If you want to create programs about menstruation issues, talk to a reproductive health doctor or social worker. For example, you could ask them the following questions:

  • Why is it important to talk openly about menstruation?
  • Apart from disposable sanitary towels, what other safe sanitary pad alternatives are there?
  • What are some good hygiene practices during menstruation for both rural and urban settings?
  • How can you encourage the community to be engaged in menstrual health (at school and at home)?

Duration of the entire program including intro and outro: 20-25 minutes.

Script

SIGNATURE TUNE

HOST:
Many girls in Africa miss school during their menstrual period because they cannot afford sanitary towels. A recent study by the World Bank reports that, on average, girls miss school four days every four weeks.

In today’s program, we hear from girls who are affected by this, and we also learn about affordable and reusable sanitary pads that could be one solution to the problem of access to menstrual products. Welcome to the program Focus on the Women and Girls. I am _____.

SFX:
BELL RINGING, SOUND OF CHILDREN PLAYING. UP THEN UNDER.

HOST:
It’s three o’clock in the afternoon at Soda primary school in the heart of the Kibera slum in Nairobi. Fourteen-year-old Quinter and her friend Lucy sit inside their class and watch their classmates make their way to the nearby playground for games. Today, Lucy cannot play and Quinter is here to support her friend.

LUCY:
It makes me sad because I can’t play like the others. If the teacher comes in and asks me why I am not outside, I will give an excuse … I am embarrassed to tell him the truth.

QUINTER:
Sometimes, it is better to stay at home when you are on your period. The only problem is that you have to explain to your parents. It is so embarrassing and sometimes my dad does not even want to understand.

HOST:
Lucy and Quinter are just two of the many girls in Africa who experience shame during their periods for at least two to seven days a month. I sat with the girls and we spoke more about what they use during their menstruation days and how it makes them feel. I asked Lucy what she uses during her period.

LUCY:
My mum cannot afford to buy pads from the supermarket, so sometimes I use tissues or blankets.

HOST:
Are you not afraid they might fall?

LUCY:
(LAUGHING) Sometimes they do and the boys laugh at us.

QUINTER:
(LAUGHING) That’s why we sit here instead of playing with the rest.

HOST:
Do you wash them after use?

LUCY:
Sometimes, but there are times when there is no water so I have to wait until I can get some water. But there are some pieces of cloth which are dirty and it can affect you.

HOST:
How about you, Quinter, what do you use?

QUINTER:
I use pieces of cloth like Lucy, or I cut a piece of sponge from a mattress.

HOST:
And how do you store them?

QUINTER:
Under the bed, because I do not want my younger sister and brother to see it. This means it may be dirty when I want to use it again and I am always scared it might affect me.

HOST:
Women and girls in in countries around the world who can’t afford menstrual products or don’t have access to them are forced to use old clothes, paper, and even leaves to manage their menstrual bleeding. This situation is worse for schoolgirls like Lucy and Quinter because not only do they miss school on the days of their period, but these materials are unhygienic and can cause problems like reproductive tract infections. But the available sanitary towels are too expensive for their parents. To find out how affordable sanitary towels are, I went to the nearest supermarket.

SFX:
SUPERMARKET SOUNDS (TELLER MACHINE, COINS, AND SOUNDS OF PEOPLE SHOPPING)

HOST:
I am standing in a supermarket aisle and I can count at least 2, 3, 4 …. 7 different brands of sanitary towels and tampons ranging from a dollar to six US dollars for a packet of eight disposable pads. That is the cost of a quarter kilogram of meat in a Kenyan household, and very few households even have meat on their menu. This means that sanitary towels are the last thing that most families would budget for.

So, are there affordable alternatives to disposable sanitary towels? I spoke with Florence Kamaitha, founder of the organization, Pad Heaven, and the creator of Malkia washable pads in Kenya about her work promoting menstrual hygiene. I started by asking why she is interested in menstrual health.

FLORENCE KAMAITHA:
I started this initiative in 2012 after I visited a rural school and noticed that only boys were in the playing field. On asking, I was told that most of the girls were at home because they had their period and could not afford sanitary towels. From there, I resolved that I would give as many girls as possible a way to go through their period with dignity.

HOST:
Why is good menstrual hygiene important for girls and women?

FLORENCE KAMAITHA:
Women and girls in Kenya lack adequate facilities for managing menstrual hygiene. This includes access to clean water to clean themselves during their periods, clean lockable toilets or pit latrines where they can change, a proper way to dispose of their used pads, and affordable and quality products to manage their flow. Good menstrual hygiene prevents bacterial infections and skin irritation as well as toxic shock syndrome. Girls and women also lack information on menstrual hygiene and health.

HOST:
How does information on menstrual health help them?

FLORENCE KAMAITHA:
Menstrual health information can guide women and girls on the number of hours to stay with a pad or a tampon, the correct kinds of product to use, and ways to dispose them. When they have the correct information about menstruation, girls and women can make healthy and well-informed choices about her body. Girls’ inability to manage menstrual hygiene in school results in school absenteeism, which has severe economic costs on her life and on the country.

HOST:
So what is Pad Heaven doing to change the situation?

FLORENCE KAMAITHA:
During my school outreach programs, I saw what girls use to contain their periods. Most were using folded pieces of cloth. Since some girls were already using cloth and washing them after use, I decided to design a leak-proof, safe, and affordable reusable pad. The pads cost 650 Kenyan shillings, which is about six US dollars and can be reused for a year.

I also realized that many girls go through puberty with little to no information on menstruation, so I made it my mission to speak on the “taboo” topic that many don’t speak about. I published a book on menstrual hygiene for girls. It covers puberty, menstruation, use and disposal of pads, hygiene, diet, pain management, as well as myths surrounding menstruation.

HOST:
How many pads have you distributed so far?

FLORENCE KAMAITHA:
I have employed eight women ex-inmates and together we have produced over 50,000 washable sanitary pads.

HOST:
We are talking about menstrual health and hygiene in our program today. Earlier in the program, we heard from two primary school girls in Nairobi on the materials they use during their period. We also heard from Florence of Pad Heaven about the reusable pad that she is making and her work giving information on menstrual health and hygiene to women and girls. Next, we will cross over to Uganda and hear about other initiatives around menstrual health and hygiene. But first some music.

MUSIC

HOST:
Welcome to Focus on the Women and Girls. In today’s program, we are talking about menstrual health and hygiene. In Uganda, as of 2016, only 21 per cent of girls were enrolled in junior secondary schools and 7 per cent in senior secondary schools, compared with 91 per cent in primary schools. Researchers believe that the cost of hygiene products and the difficulties in managing periods play a key role in keeping girls out of secondary school.

AFRIpads is one organization in Uganda that is providing washable, reusable cloth pads for women and girls and also working with locally trained community health nurses to talk to girls about menstrual health and hygiene. I spoke with Geoffrey Businge, a manager at AFRIpads about what the organization is doing.

HOST:
It is good to speak to a man who is involved in menstrual health and hygiene. What motivates you to be involved in these issues?

GEOFFREY BUSINGE:
In my work, I have seen women suffer during their menses because men do not understand the process that happens to a woman every month. I took it upon myself to always help men and boys understand why women and girls need their support during this period, and to also help girls understand the menstrual process.

HOST:
Give me an example of how you have you seen women and girls being treated during their period.

GEOFFREY BUSINGE:
I have seen it in schools: boys sometimes bully the girls because they don’t quite understand what the girls are going through. I have also seen it in the home: some men believe that menstrual blood is dirty and they distance themselves from a woman during her period. In cases where the woman is in pain and cannot perform her domestic duties as expected, she could face physical and verbal abuse, which are both types of gender-based violence.

HOST:
How do you address this as a man working in the menstrual health field?

GEOFFREY BUSINGE:
First, we talk to the girls and help them understand what they are going through and how to handle themselves during their period. Then we talk to boys and men and help them understand that menstruation is normal and natural and is not dirty—and so women and girls should not be treated differently when they are on their periods.

HOST:
Have you seen any changes?

GEOFFREY BUSINGE:
Well, it has taken a long time, but we are now seeing a little difference, especially in the schools. We are encouraging teachers to be proactive in telling boys that this is a natural process. We have also encouraged schools to support girls so that they are not left out of academics and extracurricular activities when they are menstruating. And we have seen changes. We have seen boys sit through the menstruation talks and offer to assist the girls where necessary. That was unheard of some years back. At home, we are now seeing some fathers giving their daughters money to buy sanitary towels, but this is not so common.

HOST:
Are the reusable and washable AFRIpads helpful to the girls?

GEOFFREY BUSINGE:
Yes. In terms of helping the girls to go about their normal lives when having their periods, it is working. This is especially true in places where there is extreme poverty and the family cannot provide sanitary towels.

HOST:
The girls may have reusable sanitary pads, but they still need access to water, sanitation, and good hygiene facilities—and in some cases, a way of disposing of menstrual waste. How is this being addressed?

GEOFFREY BUSINGE:
Menstrual health and hygiene issues can only be successfully addressed through a multi-sector approach. We will provide the reusable pads, but we also need partners in the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector and government to provide clean water and sanitation. For now, we can only distribute the reusable pads in areas where the girls and women can access water. If we all do our bit, we can sort all the issues surrounding period poverty and shame.

HOST:
A lot needs to be done to help girls and women during their period, but there has been some progress in different parts of the continent. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have started initiatives to provide sanitary pads for women. Kenya was the first to reduce the cost of sanitary products for rural girls and remove the value-added tax on menstrual hygiene products. Florence from Pad Heaven outlines some of the strides made by Kenya.

FLORENCE KAMAITHA:
Kenya launched a menstrual hygiene policy in 2019. It outlines what needs to be done to ensure that girls and women have what they need to manage their periods. The government also introduced free pads in schools, which served quite a number of schoolgirls for a few years. However, in the 2021-2022 budget, no funds were allocated towards menstrual management. I believe more can be done in schools and workplaces by providing menstruation products and facilities to ensure that girls and women handles their periods hygienically, freely, with dignity, and without stigma or taboos.

HOST:
For Lucy and Quinter, the 14-year-old girls from Kibera, all they want is to be able to stay in class and play like their other classmates. But they can only do this if they have access to sanitary pads, water, and sanitation, and accurate on menstruation health and hygiene.

Would you like to use pads just like other girls, Quinter?

QUINTER:
Yes, then we will be able to stay in school, play with our friends, and not worry about the pad falling off.

HOST:
And that is what we hope every girl in Africa will be able to do during their period. Those words by Quinter, a young girl from the Kibera slums who hopes to use a pad one day, bring us to the end of our program.

Today, we were talking about menstrual health and hygiene. We heard from Florence Kamaitha of Pad Heaven and Geoffrey Businge of AFRIpads on their washable and reusable pads and how they are giving girls much-needed information on menstruation. We also heard from two young girls, Quinter and Lucy, who do not have access to menstrual health and hygiene products and facilities. Join us again next week for more information and stories on Focus on the Women and Girls. I am …

Acknowledgements

Contributed by: Winnie Onyimbo, Trans World Radio, Nairobi, Kenya

Reviewed by: Florence Kamaitha, Founder, PadHeaven Initiative; Diana Nelson and Elena Steinhaus, Days for Girls

Information Sources

AFRIpads website: https://www.afripads.com/

Pad Heaven Initiative website: https://padheaven.org/

Tofaris, E., 2020. Keeping African girls in school with better sanitary care. The Impact Initiative. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/13575/KeepingAfricanGirlsInSchool.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

UNESCO, 2014. Puberty education & menstrual hygiene management. Good policy and practice in health education, Booklet 9. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000226792

Verma, R., 2019. Menstrual hygiene in Africa: No pad or no way to dispose it. Down to earth. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/waste/menstrual-hygiene-in-africa-no-pad-or-no-way-to-dispose-it-63788

World Bank, 2018. Menstrual Hygiene Management Enables Women and Girls to Reach Their Full Potential. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/05/25/menstrual-hygiene-management

Interviews:

Mr. Geoffrey Businge, Regional Business Development and Partnerships Manager, Afripads, interview conducted on December 15, 2021

Florence Kamaitha, Founder, PadHeaven Initiative, interview conducted on December 8, 2021

Lucy and Quinter interview conducted on November 18, 2021

This resource was supported with the aid of a grant from M. L. Geyer