Lack of menstrual health, menstrual solidarity and menstrual poverty is unfortunately still present everywhere in the world. Lack of education about menstruation, limited access to hygienic products, such as in schools, poor sanitary infrastructure are all factors that negatively impact the health and hinder the educational opportunities of young girls and women all over the world.
In June 2022 during the WHO 50th session of the Human Rights Council Panel, discussion on menstrual hygiene management, human rights and gender equality and menstrual health have been placed on the global health, education, human rights, and gender equality/equity agendas by grass-roots workers and activists from the global South.
These activists draw attention to reports of women and girls’ experiences of shame and embarassment, and the barriers they face in managing their period because they do not have the means to do so, with consequences for their life opportunities including their rights to education, work, water and sanitation, non-discrimination and gender equality - and ultimately to health.
WHO salutes the grass-roots workers and activists, who have doggedly championed menstrual health, and welcomes the inclusion of Menstrual Health in the Human RIghts Council agenda. WHO calls for menstrual health to be recognised, framed and addressed as a health and human rights issue, not a hygiene issue. WHO calls for three actions:
Firstly, to recognise and frame menstruatino as a health issue, not a hygiene issue - a health issue with physical, psychological and social dimensions, and one that needs to be addressed in the perspective of a life course - from before menarche to after menopause.
Secondly, to recognise that menstrual health means that women and girls and other people who menstruate, have access to information and education about it; to the menstrual products they need; water, sanitation and disposal facilities; to competent and empathic care when needed for example in conditions such as endometriosis, to live, study and work in an environment in which menstruation is seen as positive and healthy not something to be ashamed of; and to fully participate in work and social activities.
Thirdly, to ensure that these activities are included in the relevant sectoral work plans and budgets, and their performance is measured.
WHO recognises that several sectors have equally important roles to play in promoting and safeguarding menstrual health, and is committed to stepping up its efforts to encourage health policymakers and programme managers to engage with these sectors to promote the rights of women, girls and other people who menstruate and meet their comprehensive menstrual health needs, especially in humanitarian contexts. WHO is also committed to breaking the silence and stigma associated with menstruation and to make schools, health facilities and another workplaces menstruation responsive.
Governments are beginnning to act, but they need to do much more. Activists - including young people - and nongovernmental organisations have done much to place menstrual health on the agenda. A growing number of governments are acting. Some governments have removed taxes on menstrual products. Others have focused on the challenges faced by school-going adolescents in obtaining menstrual products. Still others have put in place strategies to provide menstrual products to populations in difficult circumstances eg. those who are homeless or those who cannot afford to buy them.
A handful of countries have put in place laws and policies for medical leave when one is experiencing pain, discomfort and other symptoms and signs related to menstruation. These are useful steps, but governments could and should do more than improve access to menstrual products. They should make schools, workplaces and public institutions supportive of managing menstruation with comfort and dignity. More importantly, they should normalise menstruation and break the silence around it.
Menstrual poverty is no longer acceptable. Access to healthy sanitary products and being able to go to school/work every day of the month is a fundamental right for women. We therefore cannot be thankful enough to companies who have supported this important initial step in securing menstrual solidarity. Let’s keep on working in collaboration with all government, policymakers, managers and companies to sustain and put gender solidarity, equality and equity on our agendas.
WHO (2022) The 50th session of the Human Rights Council Panel. Geneva Centre.
By Dr. Josephine Attard PhD
E: josephine.attard@um.edu.mt
Head of Midwifery Department
Faculty of Health Sciences