Sanitary products in public washrooms laudable
Menstruation is a normal occurrence in the lives of women and girls, for which reason they plan towards it.
However, there are certain occasions the menstruation occurs unexpectedly when one might not readily be carrying any sanitary product to use at such a time.
This could occur at the work place while attending to clients, at the market while selling or making purchases, at a public building transacting business or school while serious lectures are going on or writing an examination.
Any woman or girl who has experienced this unexpected menstrual flow will acknowledge that it can indeed be a nightmare, especially when at that particular moment they have no sanitary product.
The discomfort, the embarrassment and inconvenience such a situation could present to women and girls cannot be underestimated.
It is for this and many other reasons that the call by the Communications Coordinator for Oxfam in Ghana, Archibald Adams, for corporate institutions to provide sanitary pads in their washrooms to enable female staff and clients who access their facilities to use them, is very relevant (See Daily Graphic, Tuesday, June 10, 2025)
Mr Adams’s reasons for such a suggestion were that there were times that women's menstrual cycle was not anticipated, or even when it happened, it went beyond the normal number of days when the woman might probably not be prepared, therefore, having sanitary pads in washrooms could address the inconvenience.
The Daily Graphic notes that since the publication of the story, some have deemed the call unnecessary with the explanation that people who do not readily need the sanitary pads might go and pick them up from the washrooms, thus the sanitary pads might end up in the wrong hands.
Some also argue that the menstrual cycle is anticipated, therefore, women should be able to carry sanitary products on them always, especially when the menstruation period is getting close.
However, what they fail to realise is that one’s menstruation can accidentally occur if she is exposed to a shocking incident - be it hearing a bad news, witnessing a horrible incident, or in an examination that you realise the questions you were anticipating did not appear, etc.
With sanitary products in the washrooms of any such public facilities, the person could quickly dash there to make use of them and afterwards, purchase what she would need later.
This would, therefore, reduce the stress and anxiety that she would have gone through if there was no such products in the public washroom.
Furthermore, having menstrual products in public washrooms will save the time of leaving one’s duty post to go and purchase some of the products for use.
It also takes away the inconvenience of women having to carry sanitary products on them every day.
It must also be emphasised that having sanitary products in public washrooms prevents the shame that is associated with soiling oneself with the menstrual blood and the awkward situation it would present.
The Daily Graphic believes that sanitary pads in public washrooms will encourage conversations around menstrual hygiene, help break the stigma surrounding menstruation and promote awareness of best practices., for instance, their proper disposal.
The paper also believes that it would enable staff and people who access such facilities to stay clean and comfortable during their period, prevent health issues related to menstruation such as infections and discomfort, and support education and awareness about menstrual hygiene.
Organisations that provide sanitary pads in their washrooms also stand the chance of having increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Also, such businesses will have a positive reputation because public spaces that provide sanitary pads could be seen as being supportive.
The Daily Graphic believes the suggestion is a laudable one, and as such institutions should immediately heed the call in order to support their female staff and clients.
