During the celebration of the World Menstrual Hygiene Day, women highlighted the lack of safe pipe-borne water as key factor affecting women and girls in Liberia. The program, which was Gender-sensitive, brought together 100 girls and young women from 10 selected communities, 5 schools and representatives of line ministries that deal with women issues, including the Ministry of Gender.
Speaking during the program, held at the Shepherd’s Life Mission Ministries, Paynsville, on Friday May 28, 2021, some permanent women in society were bold to tell their story of how they grew up without using menstrual pads during menstruation, but rather cloths they washed and hanged to dry and later kept for the next month of the same purpose. According to one of the speakers, it was a tough moment, especially for a girl who loved to run around and play with her friends. “I was always careful during those moments, because I thought the towel or cloths would fall off and disgrace me or my clothes will be stained with blood, which would cause people to stare at me. “Today, I am glad that we live in a society where women and girls have the opportunity to have menstrual pad, which is very hygienic and convenient.” Woundaneh Lymas, a staff of Gender Ministry told women and girls at the program.
For her part, Berttee Forkpabio said there is a need for the Government of Liberia (GOL) to ensure water is available in all parts of the country. According to Berttee, water is very essential to a woman or girl, especially during her menstrual period. “Take for example, if a woman is on her menstrual period and all the bathroom doors are locked in the Capital Building, what happens…that woman will be left miserable all through the day,” she said.
The principal of the Bishop James B. Ferguson Junior and Senior High school, Paynesville, for his part, thanked the organizers of the program for the clear deliberation, and extended his invitation to the organizers to visit his school where he said a number of girls run in and out of the school office on a daily basis complaining that they are sick and asking for tissue, which he thinks is due to the lack of menstrual pad.
“Sometimes we don’t understand how tissues run out, because a girl will just walk in our office and say, ‘I am sick today…please give me tissue. And we will give it to her to help, not knowing it has its own side effects as disclosed in your teachings today,” the principal told the audience.
World Menstrual Hygiene Day is an annual awareness day celebrated on May 28 of each year to highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene management (MHM) for the promotion of the reproductive rights of women and girls. The day was initiated by a German-based NGO, WASH United, in 2014, and aims to benefit women and girls worldwide.
During the celebration, programs are designed to challenge government and citizens to improve poor menstrual hygiene causes, educate citizens on issues relative to taboos and stigmatization, limited access to hygiene menstrual product and poor sanitation infrastructure, which undermine educational opportunities, health and social status of women and girls around the world.