By Dimithri Wijesinghe
The Fourth International Virtual Conference on Dignified Menstruation titled ‘Dignified Menstruation for Ending Child Marriages’ was held on 8 December 2022 from 10.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event was organised by Viluthu – Centre for Human Resource Development in partnership with the Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation (GSCDM).
With digital participation from media, activists, and many advocates for the cause, the event featured a number of renowned speakers including Viluthu Research Coordinator S. Devapura, Consultant Dr. Shikshita Malla from Nepal, Viluthu Executive Director Maithreyi Rajasingam, Chief Guest University of Jaffna Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. R. Surenthirakumaran, and the keynote speech courtesy of GSCDM Founding Member and GSCDM America Chapter Director Mili Adhikari.
Organising partner Viluthu is a Sri Lankan non-profit, development organisation which has been involved in the progression of the movement from the grassroots, operating on the key belief that dignified menstruation is a human right. The organisation has actively mobilised its grassroots-level networks, having engaged youth and women, encouraging community action, raising awareness, mobilising resources, etc.
In what would appear to be an incredibly timely intervention to share learnings and mainstream this cause of dignified menstruation against all forms of violence, the event focused largely on the concept of ‘Normalisation of dignified menstruation in the world by ending discrimination’.
The discussion was aligned with the prime focus of seeking avenues to create a link between child marriages and menstrual discrimination, to explore future actions, and to work in a collective on the implementation of actions that would lead to dignified menstruation and eliminate menstrual discrimination as a global priority.
Addressing the event, Viluthu Executive Director Maithreyi Rajasingam shared: “From 1,081 women, nearly 35% of participants [in this community-led action to raise awareness on dignified menstruation] are subject to child marriage. Girls coming from communities of conflict have been subject to sexual harassment and 40% are subjected to sexual bribery and sexual exploitation.”
In an effort to highlight the deep-rooted discrimination against menstruation, Rajasingam shared an emotional story of the experience of a schoolgirl.
The story of Rinku, a child marriage survivor
Rinku was 13 years old at the time her parents first brought up the topic of marriage and most of her friends had been given in marriage by this time. However, she had managed to say no to marriage at the time. When she reached the age of 17, she was told that girls always had to follow the rules, and at that time she failed to convince her parents as they were under pressure owing to community expectations as well.
However, when Rinku met some social activists, she was able to call upon the Police, who visited to convince her parents. She was then faced with two options – get married or commit suicide. Not having anywhere else to turn to, she decided to leave home and sought shelter at a nearby house, which affected her family’s reputation. Rinku, having shared her story, made sure to note that this was not only her story but the story of many other girls in Sri Lanka.
Rajasingam noted that stories like Rinku’s helped demonstrate that dignified menstruation was not only an issue of hygiene but that it was also interwoven with the lack of sexual health education, which established its deeper connection to this practice of child marriages the moment a girl was considered to be of age.
A signal for child bearing
Prof. R. Surenthirakumaran also pointed out that menstruation was a natural process that indicated that a woman was capable of bearing a child and that we must ensure healthy and dignified menstrual cycles.
He noted: “There is a lot of stigma and cultural beliefs surrounding menstruation. There is a hostile environment created for these women. We need to find how this unpleasant environment can be eliminated.”
Prof. Surenthirakumaran noted that customs and beliefs in the community affected the lives and rights of these children. “When a child starts menstruating and they are mostly kept at home, subjected to abuse and harassment, which effects their education, their basic rights are violated,” he noted, adding that these were incredibly harmful practices, especially considering that the right to freedom and education was key to empowering young women as “women are the key to developing a healthy community”.
He noted that women and young girls needed proper nutrition, hygiene, and health facilities, as the lack of these facilities would make them more vulnerable to chronic diseases. He stated that this could happen at policy level, institutional level, and community level: “It has to happen at the grassroots level in the community as well. There have to be many female leaders to address these issues. We need to prevent school dropouts. Schools are unable to provide adequate facilities for menstruating girls. Children have to be educated about menstrual hygiene.”
Recognising as a right
Mili Adhikari noted that a key issue with dignified menstruation was that most communities condemned blood, labelling it as impure and claiming that the menstruating woman was not worthy. Adhikari noted that this was connected to wider social beliefs, behaviours, and stigmas regarding menstruation.
Additionally, it is noteworthy that the UN is yet to acknowledge the denial of a woman’s right to menstruation in a dignified manner as a human rights violation.
She further stated that when addressing the root issue, it was unavoidable that “dignified menstruation would require a world with no abuse, discrimination, and access to hygiene products and a dignified life”.
With regard to child marriage, which is defined as marriage before the 18th birthday, it has been nearly a century since child marriage laws have been introduced globally, but there have been no advances since. Adhikari noted: “This samples the intersectional impact of misogyny and patriarchy, which makes young girls vulnerable to gender-based violence.”
She added that adopting the dignified menstruation movement would eliminate gender-based violence as well. “It is a multifaceted tool. We must break the silence on menstruation. We must centre dignity in the advocacy of menstrual work,” she said.
The event also placed great emphasis on developing community leaders.
The collective consensus was that not reaching the grassroots levels was a concern in developing the movement, which must be done from the ground up with a mechanism available at household level.
A key highlight was that the group recognised that the experience of menstruation varied from child to child. Therefore, the services available, such as health clubs in schools and support groups, should have a local regional agenda to ensure that the services were catered to the needs of the child.
While it is important to work at all levels, even with modern technology it can be difficult to address matters and bring all stakeholders to the grassroots level. Therefore, community leaders are the best solution in terms of representation at all levels. The participants shared: “When we say community leaders, we are talking about village-level leaders to address such issues, and not politicians and other wealthy persons of interest.”
Period poverty
On a closing note, the group discussed the findings of the report titled ‘Taking Menstrual Hygiene Products in Sri Lanka: A Policy Analysis,’ based on research conducted by the Advocata Institute, which found that Sri Lanka’s period poverty rate was 50%. Period poverty is one of the greater hurdles in ensuring the right to dignified menstruation for women.
The study showed that 50% of households with women of menstruating age did not report spending any amount of money on sanitary napkins, particularly after the prices of sanitary napkins increased from March to September 2022 with the country facing a severe financial crisis and subsequent hikes on imported products.
In addition to the inability to afford menstrual hygiene products, the study reported that psychological anxiety, shame, and stigma also left women improvising with other materials or wearing products for longer than desired, as opposed to utilising proper hygienic menstruation products.
It was widely agreed that the most viable solution to many of the pressures that arise when addressing the matter of menstrual health of young women and its relationship with child marriages was to demystify menstrual topics at the time of puberty. It all comes down to education and creating an environment where open conversation is commonplace.