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WHY DOES PERIOD EQUITY MATTER?

Health experts and advocates have named “period poverty” as the main reason that young girls routinely stay away from school, especially in developing countries. 

Period poverty is when a girl cannot afford menstrual products during menstruation, which is approximately four days every four weeks. Such girls would often resort to unhygienic practices.

Menstruation is an integral part of a woman’s life but is a nightmare for the over 1.2 billion women across the world who do not have access to basic sanitation during their periods, according to a study.

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Another report suggests that women who experience period poverty are likely to suffer from anxiety or depression. Period poverty – though globally recognised – still gets less attention in many parts of Africa.

One in 10 African girls misses school during their periods, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, estimates. This means they fall behind in their studies and often drop out of school. The National Democracy and Health Survey 2013, revealed that girls make up 60 per cent of the 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria.

Despite these calls, the government is unmoved as menstrual products remain taxed – resulting in higher prices of pads.

Between 2015 and 2019, sanitary pads like Always Ultra rose from N250 to N400. Most Tampon brand products which sold for N750 have risen to about N1200.

The hike is also linked to the fall in the exchange value of the national currency, the naira, as many women prefer foreign pads to locally manufactured products. (Even local products are also expensive due to taxes.) Research showed that many Nigerian girls and young women now use cloth napkins, cotton wools and tissue paper due to escalating costs of tampons.

Beyond period poverty, experts point to lack of water and poor or inadequate toilet facilities in schools as other reasons girls stay away from school during periods. A 2015 UNICEF survey revealed that most school toilets in Nigeria are unkempt with only 25 per cent having clean water, soap and sinks.