Increase allocation for women’s sanitary facilities
The government needs to increase allocations to improve sanitary facilities for women across the country, speakers said at a discussion yesterday.
They were speaking at a discussion on increasing budget allocation for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) at schools organised by Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS) at Azimur Rahman Auditorium in the capital’s The Daily Star Centre.
Speakers also called for creating awareness to break the social stigma surrounding menstruation.
Kazi AKM Mohiul Islam, director general of Directorate General of Family Planning, said, “Women’s health is under threat from the lack of proper sanitation facilities.”
“The government has already distribute 8 lakh sanitary pads last fiscal year. This time around, we’ll distribute another 15 lakh pads. But this is far less than the actual requirement,” he added.
Speaking about the stigma on menstruation, he said a movement needs to be organised to raise awareness on the matter.
Monjun Nahar, manager of advocacy and communication at Marie Stopes Bangladesh, quoted a survey of ICDDR,B mentioned that about 57 percent of adolescents and 65 percent adult women were not informed about menstruation before their menarche.
“About 80 percent women still use old rags instead of sanitary napkins,” she added.
Quoting another research, Nahar said the apparel sector loses around 215 million workdays each year because of workers’ absence due to menstrual hygiene related problems. However, these issues are overlooked by the sector, she lamented.
Pointing out the menstrual hygiene problems faced by students, Rokeya Kabir, executive director of BNPS, said “It does not take much money to build infrastructure to facilitate female students’ hygiene needs.” She asked the government to take steps in this regard.
Sheikh Momena Moni, joint secretary of the finance ministry, suggested the inclusion of female representatives at all school managing committees as a way to ensure proper attention for WASH.
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