The plight of menstruating girls

Menstruation is a rite of passage which is received with mixed emotions. Some girls dread it. Others can't wait.

For Zimbabwean adolescents, like in other African countries, this natural process can bring with it loads  of problems as sanitary pads seem to be more of luxury than a basic necessity.

Imagine attending a school without any toilets or drinking water for all students. Imagine that the latrine is smelly; with no toilet paper and the door no longer closes.

What then would the situation be like when a girl has her menstrual period, when her re-usable pad is soaked through but there is no running water to clean it, or there is no trash bin for disposing the used pad? Imagine having your pad soaked through to your pants so you have to hide the stain with your book bag. And don't forget this happens every month.

A multi-stakeholder workshop recently organised by SNV development organisations unearthed a lot of issues faced by girls and women which are difficult to imagine. The ministry of Health and Child Care, Family Health representative, Alice Sasa, said sadly, girls especially those in rural areas do not have to imagine these situations as this is what they go through every month.

"Many are not able to stay in school after too many missed classes, too many embarrassing moments, too many failed tests, too many repeated grades and too many disappointments," she said.

Some studies indicate that around 66% of girls know nothing about menstruation until they start their menses, which makes for not only a negative, but also a traumatic experience.

Sasa said  little advocacy has been done on this issue and those who know have little or no knowledge of how to look after themselves or to use some of the sanitary pads which might mean the majority would have compromised their reproductive health with time.

"A simple mistake on inserting a tampon can create serious complications, for instance one may develop toxic shock syndrome. On the other hand, prolonged use of pads may also expose one to infection so a lot of awareness is needed in Zimbabwe," she said.

Zimbabwe is still a patriarchal country in which issues of menstrual hygiene is not discussed in families because some still perceive it as a taboo. In most cases, sanitary pads are not included in monthly groceries and girls as individual have to bear the brunt which exposes them to various infections including ulcers, rush and developing hard rough skin around their genitals.

According to Standards Association of Zimbabwe (Saz), there is a pad in the market which is completely non-absorbent and this means it is likely to be the cheapest. This means the poor would rush for it but would, however, stay wet during their menstruation, something which is unhygienic and may result in infections.

"Having little bacteria is a real threat because bacteria can multiply to millions in a very short period of time," Saz chemist Franklyn Chipendo said at a recent workshop held in Harare.

As 2015 approaches, analysis of the Millennium Development Goals (MGD) indicates the health sector goal of universal access to health MDG will not be achieved by 2015.

For girls in particular, the impact of low school attainment and poor reproductive health can have a magnified impact on the next generation; the mothers may face high levels of maternal mortality. In addition, the link between female educational attainment and lifetime health is indisputable; a better educated girl takes better care of herself and as a woman, has healthier and fewer children.