Did you know that harmful menstruation traditions leave people vulnerable to the pandemic? Unprivileged ones don’t have access to menstrual hygiene products.
Not everyone is lucky to buy and store bundles of sanitary pads and other menstrual hygiene essentials in this pandemic. Lack of resources, closures of the market, and public transport create barriers to access menstrual products.
The poverty makes the menstrual hygiene products out of reach for many out there. The reports have come that women are using socks during their periods. If this sounds so vulnerable, you can’t imagine the women’s mental status undergoing this.
Who are the most affected?
Women with disabilities, living in extreme poverty, prisons, migrants, refugees, transgender are the most effected.
Various stigma is associated with Menstruation. Women don’t wash their genital parts, they use ash, cloth, even leaves in the interior.
Because of pandemic the gap between menstrual hygiene and menstrual tradition is widen. Women don’t have access to menstrual products.
So yeah pandemics definitely make the life of women vulnerable because they don’t have access to Menstrual essentials like sanitary pads and tampons, menstrual cups, reusable napkins, pain medication, and soap.
Harmful menstrual traditions, poverty, gender inequality are growing at a faster pace during pandemics. And reproductive health awareness is decreasing.
The rights of people who menstruate have been undermined during the pandemic. The access to sanitization, water, and menstrual hygiene products decreases or stopped. As the communities run out of stock of these supplies. These are both essential for COVID and hygiene.
During pandemic menstruation traditions and taboos has further worsen the the condition of people
In the urban regions, 21% of women use homemade cloth during their periods. And in rural areas, about 50% do the same.
Poor menstrual hygiene can cause cervical cancer, Reproductive Tract Infections, vaginal infections, urinary tract infections, Hepatitis B infection, to name a few.
This is because of lack of knowledge and they don’t have Access To Menstrual Hygiene Products.
Hence it’s important to create awareness of the diseases that could be caused if a woman does not follow personal hygiene. Access to menstrual hygiene products is the basic right of Health, freedom, and choice.
However pandemic has increased the gap between menstrual hygiene and people because of the above-mentioned reasons. Hope we shall overcome this soon.
This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon.
