Menstrual Hygiene Day seeks to educate

By Kelly Parker
Contributing Writer

Memorial Day marked the start of summer and the end of the school year for many, but for some, it was also recognized as the 4th Annual Menstrual Hygiene Day, dedicated to bringing education and awareness regarding good hygiene management, and possible solutions to the challenges young women face.

The movement was initiated in 2014, and the 28th was chosen because the average menstrual cycle occurs every 28 days.

The vision behind Menstrual Hygiene Day is a world in which every woman and girl can manage menstruation in a hygienic way — in safety, privacy and with dignity, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Because of this recent awareness, a global platform is now connecting non-profit organizations, the media and members of the private sector to break the silence and help dismiss the social stigma.

Locally, the Now We No campaign held a gathering the evening of May 28 to discuss the importance of educating women and young girls on proper menstrual hygiene.

Of course, mensuration is a natural process, however, in many parts of the world, it is rarely discussed, which only perpetuates continuous misinformation and misconceptions.

The taboo of menstruation helps to inflict indignity upon millions of women and girls, but it also does worse: The grave lack of facilities and appropriate sanitary products can push menstruating girls out of school. According to a recent UNICEF study, one out of 10 school-aged girls in Africa are absent for an entire week every month, due to improper menstrual hygiene management. In South Pacific Asia, as many as 97 percent of young girls do not know that menstrual blood comes from the uterus and many are not taught about menstruation before they actually begin menstruating.

Like with anything, change begins with recognition and dialogue. Menstrual Hygiene Day likely will benefit from the tool of social media to help normalize the conversation. On Menstrual Hygiene Day, the hashtags #MenstruationMatters, #MHDay2018 and #NoMoreLimits were used to address the issue with the hopes of continuing the discussion well beyond the day.

This article originally published in the June 11, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.