The Tampon Taboo

Sign in Indonesia, Source: Flikr Creative Commons

For girls everywhere menstruation is a rite of passage. Menstruation is a healthy, normal bodily function that affects half of our population -- the overwhelming majority of our women, at some point in time. But for too many girls worldwide this shared experience is a source of shame, restriction and if badly managed -- illness. Menstruation is an age-old phenomenon and across the developed world we’ve built awareness, products and systems to manage menstrual hygiene to enable women to live their lives seamlessly. Even with such support we can still argue that menstruation is something we’d rather not talk about in the developed world  -- but in the developing world, the stigma around menstruation has led to an invisibility around it that can really hold our girls and women back.

According to the Geneva-based Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), even sectors such as water and sanitation which “routinely deal with unmentionables such as excreta, ignore girl’s and women’s need for safe spaces to manage menstrual hygiene and mechanisms for safe disposal of materials used to absorb menstrual blood.” As we all know, ignoring a problem -- or menstruation -- does not make it go away. NGO Plan International and A C Nielsen conducted a study and estimated that there are 355 million menstruating women in India -- but only 12% of them use sanitary napkins. The study even found that 23% of Indian girls drop out of school after reaching puberty, with irreversible effects on their health, well-being and participation in society. Millions of girls and women instead rely on old rags, dried leaves and grass, ash, sand or newspaper to manage their monthly menstrual flows -- shrouded by shame and disgust on a vital bodily function.

Columbia University,  Millennium Promise and the social enterprise, Be Girl also hosted pilots for menstrual hygiene products and one of their participants, Patience, a 15-year-old girl from Ruhiira, Uganda told them “you suffer a lot; in case you stamp [stain] the boys can make fun of you which causes you to lose your self-esteem […] it’s embarrassing when you are washing your soiled clothes. It makes you not even want to go to school.” The washing of stained rags or clothing can also bring shame, especially in areas of water scarcity. Be Girl reports that in rural Africa, 40% of school girls miss up to 5 school days a month, or 30% of the school year. WaterAid found that 82% of their surveyed girls in Malawi did now know about menstruation before it started; girls across their surveyed countries were found to be excluded from water sources during menstruation, and even prohibited from washing and bathing in some communities making what is often a difficult week even more difficult to bear.

Source: WaterAid

Given the success of feminine hygiene and menstruation products, and the important role it has played in women's empowerment history, it would appear that the private sector could have significant market opportunity if they can break this taboo for women and girls -- who are expected to require the products for more tham 50 years. Sanitary products must be designed to be affordable; disposable tampons and sanitary towels are often priced out of reach of low- and even middle-income families if supply is scarce. Euromonitor International found that women in India, with average earnings of US $750 per annum earns below the $1,000 per annum deemed necessary to easily purchase disposable menstruation products. Moreover, systems to support menstrual hygiene are necessary, products alone aren’t the solution: appropriately designed and managed community spaces and importantly education on female reproductive health.

To make this happen, WSSCC believes that breaking the silence around the taboo of menstruation is a crucial first step. Girls should be informed and encouraged to talk and discuss menstruation in an informed and positive manner to prepare them emotionally and physically for the onset of menstruation and their monthly menstrual periods. Families need the education to support their girls and women. WaterAid has also compiled a phenomenal guide, Menstrual Hygiene Matters, with nine modules and tool kits -- an essential resource -- to improve menstrual hygienic for women and girls in lower and middle-income countries.

WaterAid found that well designed and appropriate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities that address menstrual hygiene can make a significant difference to the schooling experience of adolescent girls
(Photo: WaterAid/ASM Shafiqur Rahman) 

As WSSCC spokesperson, Archana Patkar,  powerfully argues: “Women are the progenitors of the human race […] Menstruation is therefore something of which they can and should be proud, so each and every one of us should work to improve the lives and life chances for women who do not have access to clean materials, water and safe disposal facilities; who cannot talk about their experiences; or are never asked if they can help define a solution.”

On Achieving Social Justice

Head of UN Women Michelle Bachelet discusses social justice.

At the conclusion of a listening exercise that lasted months, the newly created UN Women released their strategic plan in June. Last week came the release of their flagship report, Progress of the World’s Women: In Pursuit of Justice, which lends even more validity as to why the formation of UN Women is a vital step forward, even if the organization remains underfunded.


Creating Macro Level Change
Months ago, on Columbia University’s campus where, former Chilean President Michele Bachelet was first being introduced to the world as the head of UN Women during the UN’s high plenary sessions, I marveled at how small the audience was compared to an event that previous Sunday where Bachelet spoke at a conference focused on women’s rights at the New School. The students of Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) were brimming over with desire to hear Bachelet speak, but they had to prove their credentials before being allowed entry (as if every up-and-coming humanitarian already knew her or his role in women’s rights).

Bachelet’s point that evening was the best way to manage expectation is to share the truth. Recently, the Guardian reported that Bachelet said the UN Women flagship report, “reminds us of the remarkable advances that have been made over the past century in the quest for gender equality and women's empowerment. However it also underscores the fact that despite widespread guarantees of equality, the reality for many millions of women is that justice remains out of reach…. For millions of women in both rich and poor countries, the search for justice is fraught with difficulty and is often expensive; laws and legal systems frequently discriminate against them."

The report confirms the high-level agency is on task and confronting statistics through a worldwide lens on how to forge the most effective legal outcomes and make them inherent for all women. However, Women’s eNews reported when queried how UN Women is pushing for country accountability, Bachelet did not offer any specifics. "It's not only about meeting with countries," she responded. It's about "encouraging decision-making authority for women. . . We have to work with the judicial system."

This does not create a second of rest for any of us, no matter our place in the world. Not only does the report break down the number of poverty stricken, health challenged, or abused female populations by country, it also reminds how important it is to highlight massive achievements within our most prestigious human rights-focused organizations, but also the every day actions that pave the way for women to forge better, more equitable lives.

Sudan Tensions Highlight Difficulties Faced by Women in Conflict

Photo property of: Rita Willaert

Kamila, a resident of South Kordofan, fled the state’s capital of Kadugli after heavy fighting erupted in the afternoon of Sunday, June 5, in Um Dorain--a former stronghold of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) that lies some 35 kilometres southeast of Kadugli. Kamila and other residents became concerned after a large number of soldiers from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) arrived in the capital, and rumours began to spread that members of the SPLA had requested more soldiers be dispatched to the area.

“The security situation is very bad. Residents of Kadugli town fled their homes with nowhere to run, there’s no movement of people on the streets, the market has become a battleground and basic necessities like food, water and fuel for transporting civilians has run out,” explains Kamila in an interview with Her Blueprint.

UN Women and MDGs: Toward Progress and Change?

Part 1
UN Women: A New Entity Paves a New Path

This week and next bring pivotal United Nations announcements and meetings. While the 600 page report on Rwanda’s possible act of genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo stalled until October 1, reports are now focusing on the appointment of former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to head UN Women, the United Nations' new agency for promoting women's equality. Also at the top of the UN’s agenda is the UN Summit, a high-level plenary meeting being held early next week in New York City to assess the progress of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

In July, the creation of UN Women hit major news sources. The BBC's piece, "UN to Set Up Agency Promoting Women's Rights," quoted the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moo as saying, "UN Women will significantly boost UN efforts to promote gender equality, expand opportunity and tackle discrimination around the globe."

Her Blueprint's "United Nations Creates a New Women's Rights Coalition" explained that the creation of UN Women came out of four years of intense negotiation and struggle, but was a major step toward change because it unifies four UN divisions into a single and more powerful entity to deal directly with women's issues. Paula Donovan, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World, an international advocacy organization committed to speaking up for people affected by AIDS, as well as advance the causes of social justice and promote the human rights of people, particularly women, recently asserted how important the new UN Women entity.



“This year, the international community finally came to the realization that it will never be possible to achieve peace and social justice — or any of the hundreds of targets within those broad goals — if we continue to work with and in the best interests of just half the human population. The establishment of a UN women’s agency is also global recognition that the subordination and exploitation of women are not just unethical: they are ubiquitous, destructive, tenacious, varied, complex and at this point, so commonplace as to be invisible. Therefore, we need experts who have studied gender, its history, causes and consequences, and its inescapable, prejudicial and overwhelmingly destructive involvement in every facet of our lives, from child care to macroeconomic policy formulation, from literacy and numeracy to nuclear disarmament, from cancer research to violence prevention, and from agricultural production to mining, transportation, language and the arts."

After the establishment of UN Women so began the search for its leader. Last week, the AP broke the story of the strongest candidate for the new agency with Official: Chile's Bachelet Frontrunner for UN Post. This week, on September 14, Michelle Bachelet, pictured here, was officially appointed as Under-Secretary-General (USG) of UN Women. As the former President of Chile (the country's first) and with an extensive background in health and public service, her appointment is perceived as a major triumph.

The GEAR Campaign is a network of over 300 women’s, human rights, and social justice groups around the world formed to gain UN Member States and UN Secretariat approval for creation of a larger more coherent coordinated UN agency to further gender equality. GEAR released the following statement yesterday. “Michelle Bachelet is a top notch choice and has long been one of GEAR’s dream candidates. An effective leader of great integrity, Bachelet has demonstrated strong commitment to women’s empowerment and the ability to shape gender equality policies in a variety of areas. She also has the stature to mobilize the resources crucial to make UN Women a success.”

However, even while the announcement of Bachelet as USG of UN Women is celebrated, the selection process itself is said to have continued embracing older UN protocols. AIDS-Free World's Paula Donovan her thoughts on Bachelet’s selection process and her appointment. In the positive, Donovan says, “We have an excellent, high-profile, progressive USG with the profile and experience to take on this significant role.”

But, Donovan also highlights the flawed system of choosing the highly-favored Bachelet as being made “in the same secretive, male-dominated, patronage-ridden, dangerously outmoded way that all senior appointments at the UN are made.”

Donovan further clarifies, “There will be rejoicing that in this instance, a dreadful process resulted in a great outcome, and deep concern that people not see a cause-and-effect relationship between the process and the outcome.”

None of this quells the obvious anticipation and wealth of opportunity due to finally having a strong, unified body lead on women’s issues at the UN. Yet one question on everyone’s mind is: Now that UN Women has been created, will it also be properly funded so as to ensure true change?

In a rousing statement, the GEAR Campaign shares their current hope for UN Women after the appointment of Michelle Bachelet. “This landmark decision comes at a critical juncture as the UN reforms its internal systems and has recently been seen as an exhausted and under-resourced international institution. UN Women can provide new vision and hope and will need to bridge governments and civil society as we progress into the 21st century and the GEAR Campaign will be there to support its leadership and maintain visibility throughout the transitional period and beyond.”

Monday, September 20 begins the UN Summit, a high-plenary meeting in New York City to assess the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Read Part 2 and Part 3 of Kate Stence's UN Women and MDGs.

Photo credit: Casa de America