I went shopping for toiletries a few weeks ago and returned home displeased. The price of feminine hygiene products like sanitary pads is on a constant rise. This brought to mind the reality of period poverty. World Menstrual Hygiene Day is on the 28th of May so I felt the need to express some of my concerns about menstrual hygiene and period poverty.
Period poverty simply means the inability to access sanitary products due to financial constraints and a poor knowledge of menstruation. Having your period alone is already a source of total discomfort. Then imagine not having the resources to ease the discomfort.
Help for bleeding vaginas.
Menstruation is shrouded in taboo across many cultures. Women are deemed “unclean” and somewhat dirty during their periods and this can even be traced to Biblical times. Although, times have changed there are still a multitude of issues surrounding menstrual hygiene.
In my junior secondary school, Procter and Gamble- makers of Always, paid frequent visits to discuss menstrual hygiene and distributed free sanitary pads to us. This helped a great deal coupled with the knowledge most of us had gained from home but how many girls have such privileges?
Some NGOs such as Girls for Development Goals are visiting schools across Nigeria and teaching them about menstrual hygiene and how to make menstrual cups. This is a good step in the right direction but I have my reservations about menstrual cups.
You see, anything that has to be inserted into a vagina MUST be impeccably clean. When I think about access to clean water and living conditions in urban areas, the idea of using menstrual cups doesn’t sit well with me. I also have issues with tampons for a variety of reasons and most especially because of the cost. It’s little wonder why sanitary pads dominate the shelves at the feminine hygiene section.
To be at Ease.
The average cost of a pack of sanitary pads is 400 Naira. If we do the maths, that’s approximately 5,000 naira a year spent on sanitary pads which isn’t so much. But let’s go further. If a girl has a heavy flow which lasts for 4-5 days, a pack of sanitary pads will not be enough for one menstrual cycle. So we’re talking about nothing less than 2 packs of sanitary pads to ensure maximum comfort. Now, how many families can provide such “luxuries” for their daughters? In a country like Nigeria where a majority of the population live below the poverty line, menstrual hygiene products are indeed a luxury.
It hurts when you realise that women are actually being made to pay VAT for menstrual hygiene products. We do not menstruate by choice so why are we being taxed for it? Countries like Scotland, Kenya, Australia and Canada have done well to remove taxes on menstrual hygiene products and all I can say is, “God when?” The Nigerian government can do better for us over here.
Period poverty is as real as climate change. We may not have the resources to combat it on a large scale but we sure do have roles to play in our own ways. As a woman, do well to move around with sanitary pads in your bags. You might just be helping a sister out. For the men, send the women in your lives care packages that include menstrual hygiene products. There is no shame in it. Menstruation is very much normal.
Quick questions for the ladies, which works best for you; sanitary pads or tampons? And, have you ever made use of a menstrual cup? If yes, how was your experience? Feel free to share.
Have the best week ahead and please stay safe out there.
Hmmmm…i remember them(procter &gamble) visiting my secondary school too a couple of times and also giving us a few packs of sanitary pads; honestly that was where i learnt how to properly dispose of a used sanitary pad yunno the wrapping method, even though i usually dispose them in the trash. The Nigerian government can truly do better when it comes to these things, if you cant give them to is for free you should at least not let us pay for taxes on them as its not our fault that we menstruateš¤·š½āāļø. Personally, i prefer sanitary pads to any other thing. The sanitary pad i get is 700/pack as at some days ago and its Always too.
Thank you for talking about this, people really need to know that there is something like this…Period Poverty.
This was a good read, i lovešÆāØš¤
Lol…i just remembered how in school i used to have like so many packs of sanitary pads, funny thing is that i do not have heavy flow(thank God). Some of my logde mates then would be like āah ah wetin happen even if na the woman with issue of bloodā…iād just laugh it off. But then most of them would always come to me to give them a few..can you imagine and i always give oo, but in my mind i am like how can you forget to get something as important as this? ….well, i sha give and move on with my life
Imagine. This is also another issue that many women deal with. Well, we keep coping and pushing. May we continue to have enough resources to cater to our needs.
Thanks Ava! šProctor and Gamble really did a good job back then. Wow! 700 naira a pack. I was also using Always but recently switched to Molped and it’s been good so far. Sanitary pads remain my preferred product any day, any time.
Hmmm, I can’t even shout cos the pad I get cost 650 per pack. Every day it’s increasing and it’s tiring but what will we do, Nigeria will not kill us. Amen
Amen! We deal with so much and it gets tiring.
Hmmm.. nice topic you raised.
Growing I really did not have access to sanitary pads.
The first time I used a pad was in my high school class two when some NGOs visited our school and distributed pads for every girl. I felt so relieved considering the fact that I had never used one before other than cotton wool. Pads then was an unnecessary luxury but not anymore cos itās more comfortable to use.
Now weāre made to buy them expensively. Too bad..We donāt have a choice of not menstruating so weāll continue to buy.
Oh wow! I can’t imagine the discomfort you felt with the use of cotton wool. Bless such NGOs that do the needful. The cost of pads aren’t friendly at all. Thanks for sharing your experience with us.š
Sigh! Our sad reality as a woman living in Nigeria. I was once among those who couldnāt afford sanitary pad luxury when I started menstruating infact then myself and my mom will cut Ankara fabric as our pad and we will use hot water with soap to wash it after usage so it will be useful the next time because who dash monkey banana wey we go dey think say we wan buy always. Back then it was even 180-200, yet we couldnāt afford it. But as time progressed and things got better we started using it. Imagine starting your menstrual cycle as a young girl with Ankara fabric when your mates were talking about pad in class. So I can only imagine how some people will cope at this current price that its now above 500.
I really hope the government will do better and God bless all the ngos that help in this area. We can also as individual look around us and gift that young girl a pad or that woman in your neighbourhood that you know would need it every month.
Thanks Ogochukwu for this topic, everyone needs to read.
Awww. š„ŗ Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Rebecca. I can’t even begin to imagine how that experience felt. And to think that many girls still go through such at this time is disheartening.
So trueee! I remember when procter&gamble visits us in high school, they give free pads even with mini calendar š and teach us how to track our cycle, i think personally thatās where i learnt mine.. anyways! Omo! Sanitary towel is on the high side, and it seems thereās an increase every month.. I personally feel these things should be free or at least VAT taken out completely. The average girl cannot keep struggling with the cost of feeding and sanitary pad please !
You know this! There are still other expenses to take care of asides sanitary pads. Procter & Gamble really did a fantastic job back then though. Thank you so much, Dara.
Yes, i remember the mini calendars tooš„°