Periods: The Menstrual Monopoly

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Periods: The Menstrual Monopoly Why the Pad Priviledge is Everybody's Issue

9th August 2019 0 Comments 1871 views

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800 million women menstruate every day

40 million of these are girls who cannot afford sanitary products

2 million of these are South African school girls aged 12-18 years old

In Cape Town alone there are 4,000 homeless women

No home

No hygiene facilities

Fighting for survival

A packet of pads costs 30 rand, £2, €3

In a lifetime that’s:

325,000 South African Rand

£18,000

€19,500

Period poverty affects women all over the world. Every month, not by choice but by nature a woman will have a period. It is a part of being female. Yet even in the UK, one of the most developed Western countries, 1 in 10 women cannot afford sanitary products.

This is a global issue.

It shouldn’t be the case that a woman or a girl, is ostracised from opportunities be that in education, socially or sporting because she cannot manage one of the most basic fundaments of being a woman. Global sanitation is one of the main issues; the fact that only 27% of people have access to adequate hygiene facilities is only one side of the coin. Flip it over, and the barrier of stigmatism, cultural shame and the sheer cost of period products are plain to see. Whatever side of the coin you look at, the situation is dire.

Media, shifting stigmatisms

The media for many years helped maintain the taboos surrounding periods. Adverts grace televisions, magazines and on social media, often

An advertisement that depicts the media's portrayal of the vagina.

Example of monopolisation of a female “problem”

telling the story of a woman being ‘saved’ from an awful misfortune. And what about the blue liquid being poured on pads? Or when ‘protection’ means you can now wear your favourite white jeans?

Periods mean blood. And ‘protection’ for most women around the world means, being able to go to school, to be educated and go to work. Your white jeans are your last concern.

This ‘coded’ language, the tip-toeing around words such as; period, blood, tampon, has long supported periods as the unspoken aspect of womanhood. ‘That time of the month’ historically carries connotations of ‘dirtiness’ or ‘sickness’. It’s the idea that during this time a woman takes a back seat and sits in the ‘red car’. The fact that adverts couldn’t address periods as they are, blood, PMS, mood swings, has kept this monthly event shrouded in cultural mystification preventing its normalisation.

“The vaginal deodorant industry is a prime example of manufacturers creating a problem so they can sell a solution”

Yet there is a shift.

The sanitation industry is realising the powerful platform they stand on. Media surrounds us, scrolling through Facebook feeds, opening a magazine or standing in a bus shelter. We are constantly exposed to ideas, subconsciously imprinted and moulded by the advertisement industry. What we see, often moulds what we believe.

It’s the sanitary product companies’ duty to break down the barriers surrounding their own industry, that swamp their own customers. Libresse (Bodyform UK) in 2017 launched their ‘Blood normal’ campaign, and were the first to show a red vial of blood being poured onto a pad. This same advert depicts a woman swimming, asking for a pad across a table and being intimate with her partner. It clearly shows the pain and the cramps that come with periods side by side with women carrying out everyday activities. Blood is shown running down a woman’s leg in a shower and a bloodied pad is shown, de-pixelated, being removed. The advert was the raging bull that charged and knocked over every wall.

In 2019 on the back of Plan International’s period normalisation campaign, Unicode the company that designs emojis for smartphones released the first period emoji, a drop of blood. Another small step towards removing the stigmas that uphold the embarrassment felt around periods.

a woman in ballerina slippers with bloody feet So socially there is change. Being able to see periods as they truly are, will encourage a dialogue across women and men. This change will not be instant, but this integration must go some way in dissolving cultural apprehension towards acknowledging periods for what they are.

Opening the conversation is the only way to break down these social taboos. A conversation allows us to start to understand. And when we understand the truth of periods, the normality, the naturalness, we can begin to celebrate rather than oppress this aspect of womanhood.

I am confident that the stigma of periods will be lifted. The right media is out there to nurture the next generation of open-minded boys and girls.

But the media can only play a small role. Ultimately, like most things, It comes down to…

Money, Money, Money

While it is pivotal that we further this dialogue around periods candidly portraying menstruation, we cannot ignore the issue of money. Every month a woman has to buy a pack of sanitary products, and if she doesn’t then an alternative has to be found. The reality of this is?

Socks, rags, newspaper and magazine pages. Missing school, not going to work or hiding away.

This year South Africa removed the 15% VAT on sanitary pads, arguably now ahead of other Western Countries such as Britain that still taxes sanitary products under the ‘luxury’ clause. But compare this to contraceptives, South African clinics provide free condoms.

Sex, a choice, is demonetised yet period products are still a privilege of wealth.

This is not to say that free condoms should be condemned. This has been key in tackling the prevalent danger of HIV and AIDS. The fact that they are free, signifies that they are free for a reason, and that protection is important. But it also highlights the unbalanced scales, and puts a spotlight on the monopolisation, the profit being made off women and their periods.

Social pressure around the HIV debate ultimately mounted in a force that the government, the financial purse strings couldn’t ignore. While it does come down to money to change, we must unite in a voice, to shout loud enough to encourage the bank to be opened.

Money determines accessibility. And accessibility determines period equality.

Schoolgirls pay the price

30% of South African schoolgirls miss school when menstruating.

Education is the cornerstone in breaking the poverty cycle. Every parent wants their child, boy or girl to aspire and achieve. But across Africa 1 in 10 girls will miss school because they cannot afford sanitary products. A period happens every month, for 5-7 days. That’s a week less of education every single month. It’s appalling that in 2019 the reason a young girls prospects are dampened is because there is a price on menstruation.

How can we strive for a more equal society, for gender equality and inclusivity when menstruation determines what type of girl can be fully educated. Here in Cape Town the issue is prevalent, but it is being addressed. Amongst other organisations Running4Pads orchestrates pad drives to raise donations for 31 schools predominantly in the Cape Flats and other disadvantaged areas. It is here that Amanda Smith (founder of the organisation) told me that:

“The schools, the teachers were purchasing pads out of their own pockets. The demand so greatly outweighs the supply. I have a waiting list of schools”

Running4pads started after Amanda read an article about girls in South Africa missing school due to being deprived of a basic right. Off the back of this, she decided to run her first marathon in order to collect sanitary pads to donate. With hopes to gain NGO status her group attracts runners who want to put their passion to a cause.

picture of pads and tampons “Women are starting to stand up and say ‘hey I’m here too’, I’m an equal and my issues need to be heard. Running is letting us say this is our problem and we need to fix it”

Speaking with Amanda it became clear that the conversation around girl’s education and periods is more than just education. It’s about bringing every girl into the family. There was a clear connection between the runners family, the donating family and the girls.

“Pads are for every girl, every school, no matter what your economic standing is”

By making pads accessible to all girls we bring them all together, and help to make them all equal young women. Just because you are from a poorer community, doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the same dignity as the next girl. It doesn’t mean you have to put up with rags and make-shift alternatives. We can remove one symbol that signifies the wealth divide, and bring girls closer together.

The running aspect of the charity further helps women and men to come closer together, to allow men to find their place in this cause.

“We have men that run as ambassadors. And when they stand up and say I’m running for pads, other men see that this is something they can talk about, it is something they should be educated on”.

Just as running clubs are about individuals coming together as a collective, so is the movement to change school girl period poverty. Change relies on every individual; women, men, girls and boys uniting around the issue. Ultimately…

“Men have a mum, a sister, a child, we can all relate to it in some way. It concerns us all that our girls are educated and aren’t embarrassed about something that just happens”

Periods don’t discriminate

group of women with sanitary products ready for distribution

Girls with Wiings distributing their sanitation and care bags

It is important that organisations like Amanda’s have been established. Girl education is so important. The more people who help open the conversation contribute to the normalisation of periods. But we cannot solely latch onto one version of period poverty.

Every woman, if they’re homeless, in prison, a refugee or disabled have a period. Periods do not discriminate according to your racial, social or economic standing. It happens, no matter what else is going on in your life.

Girls with Wiings is an organisation that sows hope and restores dignity to homeless women in the Western Cape, achieving this through the distribution of sanitary products. It is charities like these that help increase the inclusivity of the period poverty conversation. It is key that we open our eyes and acknowledge the need of every single woman. The founder of Girls with Wiings Koinonia Baloy told me:

“The quality and standard I subscribe to myself is something I want for someone else, irrespective of her background, her quality of life, her race or social class”

group of women holding sanitary products in the community

The monthly sanitary product drives create an opportunity for women, of all backgrounds, to approach and meet homeless women. In this way, by acknowledging their needs, in giving sanitary products, these women are validated as individuals. The act of giving a pad, woman to woman, recognises that these women are more than just ‘homeless’.

“ The sanitary product drives allows you to encounter women that are not on the same standing as you, but you can give her something that you yourself need. That already puts us all on equal standing. I’m giving you something that you need, something that I know I would need. We are the same”

The dialogue of gender equality is happening, but we must contribute to it from within our own sisterhood. We must reach out to every woman, become equal amongst ourselves.

“Your period is so intimate, it’s so sacred. So it’s amazing that they allow us to step into that space. We gain an intimacy that allows a common ground, and a connection”

It’s this connection that speaking about period poverty aids. Every woman knows what it is like to have a period. And every woman should know what it is like to be able to manage a period with dignity.

It is complex

Today we are much more aware of the knock-on consequences of our actions. We are tuned into the environmental impact and sustainability of what we do. In a sense this is one of the biggest hurdles period poverty action has to surmount.

But finding a sustainable solution is difficult. We cannot simply say reusable pads are the way forward. What about the women who don’t have facilities to clean the pads?

We cannot simply say menstrual cups are the way forward- as Amanda Smith said:

“Menstrual cups are great, but they are more complex than pads. We can’t expect every girl to be that comfortable with her body from her first period”

Periods are multifaceted. Each woman experiences something slightly different, so to find one solution is impossible. Solutions have to be tailored to each woman, recognising their socio-economic reality.

It’s easy for us that take running water, a private bathroom and washing facilities as basic amenities. And, to say that we should all move towards eco alternatives such as cups and absorbent underwear. But in doing this we close the period conversation, and we forget that not every woman is in our position.