Why menstruation is an issue

Analette Abesamis

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Aid agencies and governments must tackle issues surrounding menstruation because ignoring it undermines the quality of life of women and girls especially in poor countries. Menstruation is the “unspoken, silent hygience and sanitation issue,” Archana Patkar, program manager of the United Nations’ Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, said. Worldwide, there are an estimated two billion women between the ages of 12 and 50 who menstruate, and at any given time, 340 of them are menstruating. Yet the lack of access to sanitary napkins, poor education about this monthly women’s cycle, inadequate washing and disposal facilities undermine women’s schooling, work and health. “Menstruation is a biological phenomenon which is responsible for future generations. We wouldn’t be here without it. So it’s really strange that we have all this silence, shame, secrecy and taboos around it,” Patkar said.

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