very month, women bleed. It can be painful, exhausting, and embarrassing, but it can also be discriminatory and deadly. Shrouded in shame and relegated to hushed whispers, “period poverty” is an under-discussed tragedy impacting millions. By openly discussing the taboo, we can dispel stigma, provide resources and education, and work toward a world where menstruation is accepted and natural.
Over 800 million women and girls menstruate each day. Despite this ubiquity, many nations — regardless of size or culture — suffer from a lack of education about and supplies for menstruation.
Nations with less developed infrastructure often lack access to proper hygiene such as water and sanitation products. These shortages also harm female healthcare workers, who make up most of the global health industry.
Lack of sanitation — and the resulting need to instead use unsafe materials like rags, paper towels, toilet paper and cardboard — can lead to higher levels of infection, higher risk of cancer, decreased and loss of fertility, and potentially-fatal toxic shock syndrome. Wateraid, an international development organization, estimates that dirty water and a lack of safe toilets are among the top five killers of women globally, with over 800,000 casualties each year.
UNESCO reports that over 130 million girls are out of school due to inequality and poverty. Among other contributing factors, the World Health Organization found that a lack of proper supplies and education for menstruation leads to absenteeism as young girls skip class to take care of themselves. Informed consent and reproductive autonomy are far-off impossibilities in communities without sex education and supplies.
Beyond the health risks, menstruation often comes with major cultural taboos which banish menstruating women from cooking, touching water, religious and cultural activities, and community spaces. Some women are banned to sheds for the duration of their periods and only fed boiled rice, all while being feared and cursed by their communities and often left cursing themselves. Unsafe conditions may lead to exposure to the elements, mental health problems and premature death.
Period poverty is far from exclusive to developing nations. One in ten women in the Netherlands between the ages of 12 and 25 are unable to afford menstrual products some of the time, and Reuters discovered that more than one in five US women struggle to afford tampons and pads every month.
On the educational level, 49% of UK girls admitted to having missed at least one day of school due to menstruation, and one in ten women aged 14-25 could not afford tampons or pads.
Over the course of life, women pay over $1,800 in menstrual supplies, and a portion of that money goes towards sales tax for “luxury items” — from which essential goods are usually exempted but tampons and pads are not. Low-income women and homeless women are disproportionately harmed by this choice. As the pandemic increased prices, many women have struggled for aid more than ever.
Canada, Australia, India and South Africa ended their luxury taxes in the last few years, with Britain joining them on Jan. 1, 2020. However, in nations like the United States, government assistance cannot be used to purchase menstruation products.
In November of 2020, Scotland became the first nation in the world to offer universal free access to tampons and pads. New Zealand is nipping at its heels as it passed legislation to offer free menstrual products in every girls’ bathroom within three years. By 2030, the UK government plans to eliminate global period poverty, though success may still take many more years.
In nations not offering universal access initiatives, stocking schools, workplaces, and other public spaces with accessible menstrual products is an effective start.
Just providing universal access to menstrual products does not guarantee their use. The World Economic Forum explains that education is key, as women with products may be misinformed about them, not understand how to use them, or lack the privacy to safely and discreetly freshen up.
Privacy, maturation and sexual education are natural extensions of womens’ autonomy. The United Nations patriarchy combines shame and stigma to limit women’s choices, and that a “global shift” in norms and attitudes surrounding girls’ health is necessary. Strengthening sexual education processes and ensuring privacy rights for girls mark the future of menstruation legislation.
A constructive, open dialogue about menstruation is another important step towards decoupling shame with a natural bodily function — whether it’s by initiating conversation with other women in your life about your time of the month or by helping them feel safe to discuss it around you. Shattering taboos by discussing women’s menstrual health frequently is vital to replacing coercive silence with constructive dialogue and eventually, empowerment.
a global affairs media network
The Cost of Bleeding Silently: Women Need Menstrual Equity, Period.
March 11, 2021
Millions of women around the world lack reliable access to sanitary women's hygiene, whether because of poverty or cultural taboo. This tragedy must be discussed openly if we are to address it adequately.
E
very month, women bleed. It can be painful, exhausting, and embarrassing, but it can also be discriminatory and deadly. Shrouded in shame and relegated to hushed whispers, “period poverty” is an under-discussed tragedy impacting millions. By openly discussing the taboo, we can dispel stigma, provide resources and education, and work toward a world where menstruation is accepted and natural.
Over 800 million women and girls menstruate each day. Despite this ubiquity, many nations — regardless of size or culture — suffer from a lack of education about and supplies for menstruation.
Nations with less developed infrastructure often lack access to proper hygiene such as water and sanitation products. These shortages also harm female healthcare workers, who make up most of the global health industry.
Lack of sanitation — and the resulting need to instead use unsafe materials like rags, paper towels, toilet paper and cardboard — can lead to higher levels of infection, higher risk of cancer, decreased and loss of fertility, and potentially-fatal toxic shock syndrome. Wateraid, an international development organization, estimates that dirty water and a lack of safe toilets are among the top five killers of women globally, with over 800,000 casualties each year.
UNESCO reports that over 130 million girls are out of school due to inequality and poverty. Among other contributing factors, the World Health Organization found that a lack of proper supplies and education for menstruation leads to absenteeism as young girls skip class to take care of themselves. Informed consent and reproductive autonomy are far-off impossibilities in communities without sex education and supplies.
Beyond the health risks, menstruation often comes with major cultural taboos which banish menstruating women from cooking, touching water, religious and cultural activities, and community spaces. Some women are banned to sheds for the duration of their periods and only fed boiled rice, all while being feared and cursed by their communities and often left cursing themselves. Unsafe conditions may lead to exposure to the elements, mental health problems and premature death.
Period poverty is far from exclusive to developing nations. One in ten women in the Netherlands between the ages of 12 and 25 are unable to afford menstrual products some of the time, and Reuters discovered that more than one in five US women struggle to afford tampons and pads every month.
On the educational level, 49% of UK girls admitted to having missed at least one day of school due to menstruation, and one in ten women aged 14-25 could not afford tampons or pads.
Over the course of life, women pay over $1,800 in menstrual supplies, and a portion of that money goes towards sales tax for “luxury items” — from which essential goods are usually exempted but tampons and pads are not. Low-income women and homeless women are disproportionately harmed by this choice. As the pandemic increased prices, many women have struggled for aid more than ever.
Canada, Australia, India and South Africa ended their luxury taxes in the last few years, with Britain joining them on Jan. 1, 2020. However, in nations like the United States, government assistance cannot be used to purchase menstruation products.
In November of 2020, Scotland became the first nation in the world to offer universal free access to tampons and pads. New Zealand is nipping at its heels as it passed legislation to offer free menstrual products in every girls’ bathroom within three years. By 2030, the UK government plans to eliminate global period poverty, though success may still take many more years.
In nations not offering universal access initiatives, stocking schools, workplaces, and other public spaces with accessible menstrual products is an effective start.
Just providing universal access to menstrual products does not guarantee their use. The World Economic Forum explains that education is key, as women with products may be misinformed about them, not understand how to use them, or lack the privacy to safely and discreetly freshen up.
Privacy, maturation and sexual education are natural extensions of womens’ autonomy. The United Nations patriarchy combines shame and stigma to limit women’s choices, and that a “global shift” in norms and attitudes surrounding girls’ health is necessary. Strengthening sexual education processes and ensuring privacy rights for girls mark the future of menstruation legislation.
A constructive, open dialogue about menstruation is another important step towards decoupling shame with a natural bodily function — whether it’s by initiating conversation with other women in your life about your time of the month or by helping them feel safe to discuss it around you. Shattering taboos by discussing women’s menstrual health frequently is vital to replacing coercive silence with constructive dialogue and eventually, empowerment.
