Menstruation not by choice!
I experienced my first menstrual flow in Primary Six.
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I was 12 years old.
I did not tell anybody about it, not even my mother!
Frankly, I do not know why I did not tell her, but somehow I managed the flow with toilet roll.
I recall sitting in class for the entire day without engaging in any activity.
When I got home that day, I was relieved to see that the flow had stopped.
The next time I saw another flow was in junior high school (JHS) One.
After physical education (PE) lessons, a classmate informed me that I had stained my PE shorts.
Fortunately, school was almost over, so I kept the shorts on until I got home.
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Upon reaching home, I showed my stained PE shorts to my aunt without saying a word. Obviously knowing what it was, she asked me to go take my bath and later boiled an egg for me to eat.
There was absolutely no conversation whatsoever about how to use the pad or even how to take care of myself.
I manoeuvred through the early stages of my menstrual cycle on my own.
Yes, I had been taught about adolescent life — girls develop breasts, have monthly menstrual flow, boys develop deep voices, broad chests etc- but that was woefully inadequate.
It did not prepare me for the menstrual cramps, bloated abdomen, acne breakouts, running stomachs, the probability of staining myself, how to calculate my cycle etc.
I was completely clueless.
It was not until my first year at Aburi Girls, when a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Always Ghana, visited the school, that I learnt how to use and properly dispose of used sanitary towels and maintain personal hygiene.
Experience
In a conversation with an advocate for girls and hygienic menstruation, Belinda Osei Kontor, she indicated that she also experienced her first menses in JHS One.
When she informed her mother, her mother’s first comment was “wo pre dodo”, to wit, you rush too much!
Belinda said, “at that moment, I wondered if I asked my menses to come!”
They never had any form of conversation about menstruation and so, Belinda resorted to using cloths since she was shy to ask her mother for extra sanitary towels.
As a result of this experience, Belinda has set up an NGO called 1000 Sanitary Pads Project to educate young girls about menstruation, menstrual hygiene and support them with sanitary towels.
I know that Belinda and I are not alone in this.
There are many young girls, who, just like us, are managing their menstrual lives on their own.
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However, like all other females, menstruation is not by choice.
It’s part of the female’s biological make up that we all must experience.
There is a problem, if a female does not menstruate!
Education
After naming ceremony, the next rite of passage is the puberty rite.
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These ceremonies symbolise the transition from childhood to adulthood.
Under the supervision of the queenmother of the town together with some female opinion leaders, young girls who have had their first menstruation are isolated for weeks as part of the puberty rites.
During this time, they were educated about menstrual hygiene, sex, motherhood and childcare.
This was our way of life; this was our culture.
Nowadays, young girls receive little to no information about menstruation from their parents.
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Menstrual education has been left in the hands of teachers, friends and the media.
Most fathers have relegated the role of menstrual education to our mothers because we have not involved men in the conversation.
Menstrual education should be a collective effort — parents, teachers, clergy, traditional leaders etc — all need to come on board.
It is not enough to provide pads for the young girls.
Let us engage them.
Impact of menstruation, menstrual leave
This natural monthly flow has become a nightmare for most girls.
Many studies have shown that most girls miss school because of difficulties in managing their menstrual hygiene and acquiring sanitary towels.
Some women experience a condition called dysmenorrhea, also known as period pain or menstrual cramps, a pain experienced during menstruation.
Menstrual pain is often accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, dizziness, disorientation, fainting, exhaustion, etc.
These symptoms can be so severe that they interfere with the ability of some women to work effectively.
As a result, some countries have introduced menstrual leaves into their labour laws.
In Indonesia, women are entitled to two days of menstrual leave per month though these are not additional leaves.
According to Article 71 of South Korea’s Labour Standards Law, female employees are entitled to menstruation leave and are guaranteed additional pay, if they choose not to take it.
In Spain, however, the law provides three to five days per month of paid menstrual leave, but the cost of the paid menstrual leave is borne by the government and not the employer.
This is to prevent discrimination in employing women.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that in Zambia, thanks to their menstrual leave policy, women are legally entitled to a day off each month known as "Mother's Day."
If a female employee is denied this privilege, she has the right to sue her employer.
Despite the implementation of these policies, the number of requests for menstrual leaves have declined with time.
Most women are uncomfortable requesting the leave because they will have to disclose that they are menstruating.
They are also afraid of being judged by their male colleagues and the probability of being overlooked for promotions.
Cost
Aside from the fact that there is little or no education about menstruation, pads are very expensive.
Some parents cannot afford sanitary pads for their daughters due to financial constraints.
Sanitary towels are classified as finished goods under the ECOWAS Common External Tariffs and are subject to a 20 per cent import duty and a 13 per cent import VAT charge.
This has significantly increased the cost of pads.
There are many types of sanitary towels.
For the purposes of this article, we will classify them under reusable and disposable pads.
As the name implies, disposable pads are disposed (thrown away) after use.
In Ghana, disposable pads are the most commonly used sanitary towels.
There are many brands in the market such that it is difficult to know which one is ideal to use.
Some of the pads cause irritation and rashes when worn for long.
Generally, these pads are not considered eco-friendly.
Most disposable pads contain plastic and other non-biodegradable (cannot easily decompose) materials that are harmful to the environment.
Because they are disposable, they are expensive to maintain.
The cheapest I have seen in the market is ¢17.00 for one pack of pad.
What are the alternatives?
Well, the alternatives are scary!
I was astounded to learn that some girls use rags and old newspapers, during their menses.
These options are unsafe.
How we can support ?
Individuals, organisations and NGOs have made efforts to make sanitary towels available to young girls in deprived communities.
Staff of Bank of Africa, as part of their yearly voluntary donation to the vulnerable, have decided to donate sanitary towels to girls in deprived areas in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi and educate them on menstrual hygiene.
Menstruation is not by choice else I can bet that all women will opt out.
Let us help make this natural experience a smooth process for our women.
The author is a Communications Officer, Bank of Africa
Portiamawu2@gmail.com