Impact of period poverty and the unprepared puberty phase
Period poverty affects developing countries the most and over 50% of all females resort to using unhealthy items like rags, polythene bags and dry grass, newspapers, polythene bags and soil, dry grass, banana fibres and leaves backcloth (Locally known as “Omutooma), polythene bags, old mattress pieces etc. to manage their menstruation which are highly unhealthy and can turn out deadly rather than safe sanitary products.
When unchecked, period poverty can have a far-reaching and long-lasting impact on the lives, health, wellbeing, education and safety of women and girls.
Nearly a quarter of Ugandan girls between the age of 12 and 18 drop out of school when they begin menstruation and an estimated one in 10 girls miss School monthly due to lack of supplies and education related to menstruation and the negative connotations of “becoming a woman”, the mystery surrounding the changes can not only create girl’s unhealthy perceptions of themselves and their bodies but can affect more concrete aspects of their lives, including their education.
During non-period days absenteeism averages at 7% but this more than triples to 28% during period days as many girls will skip school to avoid the potential embarrassment and shame associated with one’s period showing and monthly occurrence thus many young women are unable to catch up on the material they have missed and will eventually drop out of school, develop poor self-esteem and also lose confidence.
Unfortunately, even if these girls persist and are resilient enough to stay in education throughout their childhood, they are likely to fall behind boys their age, worsening the existing inequalities.
The inability to access safe, proper sanitary products and information on menstrual management forces the young women to resort to unhealthy alternatives which result into many long and short-term dangerous health risks like reproductive and urinary tract infections, which can lead to future infertility and birth complications; while not having access to hand-washing facilities can lead to the spread of other infections, like Hepatitis B and thrush as reported by the World Bank.
During one of our outreach programs conducted in Nyakasanga- Western Uganda aimed at giving out free sanitary pads, one teen shared “I used to sit in sand during my period to absorb and momentarily stop the blood then resort to old clothes once the flow reduces” such an innocent act of desperation can disrupt the PH balance of the private parts causing bacterial infections, stomach infections that lead to diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting etc.
Many people continue to hold beliefs, reasons, stories and strongly uphold these misconceptions (taboos and myths) which have diminished the physical, emotional capabilities of women due to their menstrual cycles and hinders their participation in the society as menstruation to some is considered dirty and dangerous thus women on period are not allowed near food, some women are denied form enjoying certain foods and some believe menstruation limits the women’s ability to think and work due to hormonal changes effecting their moods and ability to make decisions which is not the case.
The stigma attached to menstruation, the taboos and myths like “Menstruation indicates readiness for marriage and sex”, or the inability to afford period products and access safe places to manage menstruation goes deeper than missing school and disrupting lifestyles of young women and women but lead to an increased risk of transactional sex to access sanitary pads, child marriages, early pregnancies, malnourishment, domestic violence and pregnancy complications thus giving birth to further multiple catastrophic shadow pandemics.
Lack of Puberty Education Vs Teens
Many people think puberty is a topic that needs not to be discussed and therefore this can be dealt with on their own by the teens. This gives teens lee way to “experiment” and also “figure” things out with their bodies which in turn comes with many unpleasant short and sometimes long-term results.
Leaving teens to wonder through the rapid physical, psychological and cognitive changes exposes them to uninformed peers, increases their risk of abuse, misinformation and threatens their health due to poor hygiene practices and more pronounced effects on the quality of life and future.
Girls are exposed to stress, shame, embarrassment, confusion and fear due to a lack of knowledge and inability to manage their menstruation and other various body and mental changes.
Boys on the other hand are exposed to feeling low self-esteem, out of control of events in their lives which manifests through unhealthy behaviours and practices.
The no information will come with shock, panic, disbelief, discomfort and confusion and an innocent act of desperation during this time can be fatal to one.
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