Water and Sanitation: Females II

'What must not be named..'

In this post I would like to bring to attention the issue of female periods and damaging impacts this poses on females in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

A Taboo? 

In the previous post, I mentioned that sexual violence is often referred to as a taboo subject within Sub-Saharan Africa. However, menstruation is a topic that I feel is necessary to discuss with regards to water and sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa. I do think that it is quite an awkward topic to openly discuss but whilst menstruation is only experienced by females, it is important to note that it is simply not only for females to tackle and overcome. In other words, it is fundamentally both a male and female issue that needs to addressed. Biriwasha (2008) highlights how menstruation places a negative impact in societies within Sub-Saharan Africa due to the 'absence of clean water, sanitation and products to cope with menstrual flow'.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 57% of female children will attend primary education and from this, only 17% will be lucky enough to go onto higher education studies (Rees, 2014). Such a fall in proportion of females attending school results from an issue that is often frowned upon when discussed in public - menstruation. 

Got your period? Time to go home! 

...this is probably something which females in the UK appreciate out of choice, but for females in Sub-Saharan Africa, there may be no other option. Many young females have no access to sanitary towels or tampons and instead use cloth, rags, leaves, pretty much anything they are able to find to make do. Not only is this unhygienic, causing infections, it can also be ineffective and unreliable where leakages and blood stains can humiliate young girls (Lukale, 2004). Whilst this is a completely natural action for females which occurs on a monthly basis, women are still naturally incredibly conscious and sensitive due to smell, leakages, pain etc. Yet with a lack of adequate sanitation and safe water, coupled with insufficient toilets in school or work places, females often have no choice but to remain at home (Rees, 2014). Often for young girls, the concept of menstruation is one of many accumulated reasons as to why they face gender disparities and disempowerment in life (Biriwasha, 2008). As it is a private topic that is rarely discussed in public, females simply cannot voice their concerns and problems over unaffordable and unavailable sanitary products in fear of social damage they may receive.

 Furthermore, girls occasionally engage in sexual activities in return for financial income to raise enough money to purchase sanitary products, placing their health at a risk of sexual infections and HIV (Biriwasha, 2008).  Other young girls completely miss school during this period as they simply cannot afford sanitary towels and with a continuing stream of absenteeism occurring, Sub-Saharan Africa can no longer simply go by by ignoring this subject. It is estimated that within 4 years of secondary school, a girl will lose 156 days per year from failing to attend class due to their menstruation; the equivalent to 24 weeks (ibid). With millions of girls not attending education due to cultural stigmas related to menstruation leading to social exclusion of young vulnerable girls, they require protection and attention from the government to ensure the provision of appropriate services (Lukale, 2014).

Viable Solutions?

Global Alliances: 

Ideally, the provision of sanitary towels and tampons at a subsidised therefore affordable price would be most favourable. To ensure that sanitary protection is put in place by international and national actors, partnerships between rich and poor communities globally can act as a potential solution in providing necessary sanitary wear so that these marginalised populations have access to good sanitation facilities. These could be initiated by Sub-Saharan governments and implemented into policies where certain African governments have made progress in bringing this area of discussion to forefront and acting upon it. An example can be seen through the Kenyan government as they dropped their import tax on female sanitary products in 2011 which reduced costs by 18% to make it more affordable (Lukale, 2014). 

Education: 

As mentioned earlier, menstrual health is an issue concerning both males and females. It should be a topic which is discussed openly and understood by both sexes among the different Sub-Saharan communities. The former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon states that 'the greatest return comes from investing in girls and women. When they are educated, they drive development in their families, communities and nations' (2012). Thus the management of menstrual hygiene should be a serious matter the government takes into account. Without adequate provision of sanitation facilities, sanitary products and knowledge, females will not be able to live up to their full potential, hindering development practices of countries within Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Menstrual Cups: 

A rural area within Kenya have been distributed with menstrual cups in conjunction with a menstrual health and management workshop. Educating them about the female anatomy, the 'rugby cup' is a much cheaper alternative to sanitary towels and can be reused several times ensuring sustainability and offering the potential to not miss out on education. As these rugby cups are easy to use and can replace the use of up to 17,000 tampons, these eco-friendly alternatives eliminate the risk of bacterial infection due to the silicon material which is gentle on the body. To find out more, look at the link listed below:

http://rubycup.com/blog/distributing-menstrual-cups-in-kenya/

Local NGOs, UN bodies and UNICEF have acknowledged that there is a strong correlation between inadequate facilities of sanitary provisions and poor education attendance. Thus this must be fixed in order for bright young girls to also receive education at an equivalent level to their male friends. Menstruation simply cannot be ignored. Raising awareness about menstrual hygiene management in both sexes will reduce fear and gender discrimination and improve females' confidence in not being ashamed of being on their period, thus gaining the ability to remain in education. This will hopefully generate a domino effect as females aspire to enter more highly skilled employment and avoid early marriage/ pregnancy, which will in the long run contribute to reducing poverty (Mahon and Cavill, 2012). 

[Celebrate Menstrual Hygiene Day on 28th May]

http://menstrualhygieneday.org/

https://rewire.news/article/2008/03/25/in-africa-menstruation-can-be-a-curse/
https://en.reset.org/blog/lets-talk-about-menstruation-today-menstrual-hygiene-day-05282014
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nelly-lukale/stand-up-tall-and-break-t_b_5405523.html
House S, Mahon T and Cavill S (2012) Menstrual hygiene matters – a resource for improving menstrual hygiene around the world.