Discussion on menstrual hygiene is a necessity

More people should discuss the necessity of menstrual hygiene at home, workplace and on public platforms because it has an impact on 50 percent of the country's population and on their sexual and reproductive health, said a women's platform.

Power of She, a platform that aims to draw attention to women's journeys while facing social barriers, organised a discussion on raising awareness of menstrual hygiene at Press Institute of Bangladesh in Dhaka yesterday. Meher Afroz Chumki, state minister for women and children affairs, was the chief guest at the discussion moderated by Sabina Saby, project chief of Power of She.

Menstruation is still a taboo subject and how girls and women deal with it for a week every month remains a secret to men who comprise the other half of society. However, women need support from family, colleagues, institutions and organisations where they go to learn, to work, and above all from the government to get access to proper sanitary facilities everywhere and sanitary napkins at affordable prices, speakers said.

An increasing number of girls are enrolling in schools and women joining the labour force. They are at the risk of health issues that arise out of unhygienic management of menstruation.

Sharing her experiences from working on this issue, Kamrunnesa Mira said she had heard from women in char areas that they wrapped sand in pieces of used cloth to use it during menstruation since they didn't have easy access to toilets. “The story is similar with workers in tea gardens. Also, students from underprivileged background skip school during period,” she said.

To bring changes, she began to talk to school authorities for ensuring access to separate toilets for girls and providing them with free sanitary napkins and toiletries throughout the year.

Impoverished girls and women should know that if they use cloth, it has to be washed with soap and dried under the sun or boiled before drying it inside home, said gynaecologist Naushin Purabi.

Discussants urged the government to reduce tax and VAT on sanitary napkins so that they become affordable.