Menstruation is NOT A SHAME

Discriminatory social norms, cultural taboos, poverty, and lack of basic services like toilets and sanitary products make it difficult for adolescent girls to attend school regularly during their period. In Ethiopia, UNICEF, with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), is building Safe Spaces in schools so that adolescent girls like Fenet can focus on their education with dignity. 

“When we got our periods, boys used to make fun of us,” remembers Fenet Dejene,15, a leader of a school club that teaches boys and girls about menstruation and other adolescent health issues. “Menstruation is a sign of blessing, not a curse. Now boys understand that, and we work together.”

Fenet is a confident young girl who plays a critical role not only guiding young girls in her school but also teaching parents in her community about menstruation, health and hygiene. “Parents still lack awareness about menstruation.” Many cultural beliefs associate menstruation with readiness for marriage. “Parents, hoping to escape hardship, would marry off their daughters to wealthy people at a young age. That’s why we work with community members, and there are girls we have managed to save.” 

Fenet and many more adolescent girls have their own safe space in their school to manage their period. The secluded block has rooms for counselling, resting, and bathing. “Previously, when a girl was on her period, she would stay at home for 3 days to a week,” adds Fenet, but now that has changed. Girls have a safe space they call “a place of relief."

“When a girl sees her period for the very first time, she gets confused and scared,” says Fenet. “That’s why it is important to constantly raise awareness in school."

Teachers provide counselling sessions, calming and guiding adolescent girls on what to expect during their period in a private session. This is a critical step, says Fenet, “The main problem is that menstruation is seen as a taboo, which causes great shame for girls.”

Fenet and her friends are thriving in school, learning with dignity. The school record shows that over the years, girls’ performance and school attendance have continued to improve significantly. This is partly because they gained knowledge about menstruation health and hygiene, and have their own safe space to manage it properly.   

Boys are also becoming champions by breaking the stigma and shame when it comes to menstruation. 15-year-old Merera Sudi joins a discussion demonstrating how to use a sanitary pad.   “I used to mock and ridicule girls who menstruated. We considered it shameful and a curse, and we would make jokes,” he says. Now a member of a school club, he is at the forefront of advocating for girls. “Now I understand,” says Merera. “No tree grows from top to bottom, but from bottom to top,” describing his modest change in attitude. 

To make supplies like sanitary pads and soap easily available, teachers in Fenet’s school generate income by selling some treats to students. The proceeds help to keep stock of supplies, and those students who can’t afford to buy these items can get them for free. 

Learning about menstruation hygiene and health has become more interesting for adolescent girls with an easy-to-follow mobile app and an immersive virtual reality learning tool. 

Fenet is firm in her belief that girls can overcome any challenges and become anything they want to be.  She is now in grade 8, studying hard to take a regional exam in June and join high school next year.