Reusable Sanitary Pads
Improving Menstrual Hygiene: Reusable Sanitary Pads
Most women and girls in Bangladesh cannot afford menstrual hygiene products. (World Bank, 2018. Promising Progresss: A Diagnostic of Water Supply, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Poverty in Bangladesh.) As a result, they use rags and old cloths which often lead to infections.
Girls also often suffer emotional and mental trauma and distress due to the taboos and stigma surrounding menstruation. In fact, a 2019 study found that around 64% of girls have no knowledge of menstruation before their first period. (UNICEF Bangladesh: Tackling Menstrual Hygiene Taboos)
Women and girls often rinse their rags in water, without soap, and then hang them or place them out of sight, around the house or on the roof. The rags don’t dry properly and can grow mould, which causes infections.
We are providing women and girls from impoverished families with packs of reusable sanitary pads and other hygiene items. At the same time, we are educating them about issues surrounding menstruation through seminars and workshops.
