Dhaka: Sister Shikha Gomes on the frontline for girls' menstrual health
To mark Menstrual Hygiene Day, which falls today, Sister Gomes, principal of Holy Cross College in Dhaka, issued an appeal for a collective commitment to menstrual hygiene. In Bangladesh, social taboos, poverty and lack of educational facilities continue to exclude thousands of girls from a safe and dignified menstrual management.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) – Rubina, 15, lives in a remote village in Nilphamari, a district in northern Bangladesh. She dropped out of school after the fifth grade because of poverty.
When she got her first period, at 13, she panicked: no one had prepared her. Her mother simply told her to "be careful". Without access to adequate hygiene products, she used old rags, often wet, which caused infections.
Out of shame and fear, she never asked for help, but at a certain point she turned to the local doctor, who, however, gave her wrong and insufficient information.
In a meeting organised recently by the newspaper Prothom Alo, ahead of Menstrual Health Day, which is celebrated today, experts and educators reiterated the urgency of improving menstrual hygiene education, starting in the family to be reinforced in school.
The title of the event, organised in cooperation with the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society Bangladesh (OGSB) and the Senora brand (Square Toiletries), was: “Ensuring Safe Menstrual Hygiene: a women's right.”
One of the speakers was Sister Shikha Gomes, a member of the Sisters of the Holy Cross and principal of Holy Cross College in Dhaka. Her address showed how it is possible, with simple means, to improve menstrual hygiene management among female students.
“In our institute,” she explained, “girls learn to manage their periods hygienically. Used sanitary pads are wrapped in newspaper and disposed of in special aluminium bins in the bathrooms. We regularly organise information sessions on hygiene and the correct use of menstrual products.”
Unfortunately, “most schools in the country still don’t even have adequate toilets,” she noted.
With years of experience, including among the country’s tribal people and in rural areas, Sister Shikha has observed that very few women and girls are able to manage their periods in a safe and dignified way. To change things, she said, a collective effort is needed.
According to the World Health Organisation and numerous international studies, millions of women and girls, especially in countries with low-income economies, do not have access to safe menstrual hygiene.
In Bangladesh, social taboos and lack of information push many young women to skip school or give up daily activities during their periods.
Launched in 2014, Menstrual Hygiene Day falls on 28 May because the menstrual cycle typically lasts 28 days, and menstruation lasts 5 days. This may seem like a given in advanced economies, but in many developing countries it remains a taboo.
A 2018 national survey conducted by BBS, WaterAid and UNICEF found that only 43 per cent of adolescent girls and 29 per cent of women regularly use sanitary pads. Among the poorest families, the percentage drops to 11 per cent and 6 per cent.
A recent study by Kantar Bangladesh presented by Square Toiletries shows that 97 per cent of girls suffer from cervical infections at some point, which can often lead to cervical cancer.
On average, schoolgirls miss three days of school a month due to menstruation. Among garment workers, the absence can be as high as six days.
Sister Shikha Gomes, who has worked with girls aged 16 to 18 in rural Bangladesh, identified four levels of action that Bangladeshi society needs to take to change the situation: the state and society must promote inclusive campaigns and launch targeted policies; schools must provide adequate facilities and educational programmes; families, especially mothers, must be trained and empowered; and, finally, every citizen must contribute to overcoming taboos.
The nun stressed the importance of including menstrual and reproductive health in the national school curriculum starting in middle school, as is already the case in many other countries, and proposed specific meetings for mothers during school-family meetings, so that they can be the first support for their daughters.
The recommendations include eliminating VAT and taxes on women’s hygiene products, to make them more accessible.
“Only with the joint commitment of government, institutions, families and individuals will we be able to guarantee health and dignity to all the girls of Bangladesh,” she noted. “There is no alternative to a united and conscious approach.”
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25/04/2013
