For most women, menstruation is an unavoidable part of their lives and it is saddening that something as unavoidable and natural as menstruation is pure torture for people who cannot afford menstrual hygiene products. There is a lot of advocacy on menstrual hygiene being a right and not a privilege, and I personally agree with that. Even though I have been shielded from period poverty, I am still acutely aware of its existence and the damage it does to girls/women globally.
I grew up in a home where I learned about hygiene at an early stage of my life. I was aware of menstrual hygiene products (just pads because purity culture won't allow Nigerian moms to give out tampons and cups) long before I started menstruating, and since I started menstruating I haven't had a time when I needed to buy pads and couldn't afford to. I haven't had to choose between eating and buying menstrual hygiene products. I haven't had to not go to school because I didn't have a pad. So yes, I can say I have lived with this obvious privilege. However, it doesn’t have to be this way since menstruation is not a luxury. Every person that menstruates should have access to menstrual hygiene products.
Asides from limited access to menstrual hygiene products, another aspect of menstruation that worries me, which I think most girls and women in Nigeria have experienced, is the stigma that comes with buying menstrual hygiene products. It is cloaked in so much shame as if a boy knowing that I menstruate is something I should be ashamed of. So for a long time, I never bought pads, I always sent my brother and I instructed him to have it wrapped in multiple bags so no one could tell what he bought. A lot of girls are hesitant to ask for pads or to buy them because of the shame. All this is reflective of how much change our society needs. My past notwithstanding, I am now able to buy pads openly without shame. I can collect or ask someone for pads without asking the floor to swallow me but I know this is more reflective of my personal growth, as there are still tons of women who still see menstrual hygiene products as secret things that should not be mentioned or they should be ashamed of.
I hope that this attitude changes someday, and I believe that no matter how slow the revolution is, it will eventually come. One day every girl will have access to menstrual hygiene products and there will be no shame surrounding menstruation.
Nmesoma Johap.