Delta4Embassy
Gold Member
Tackling the Taboo of Menstruation Chris W. Williams
"One of the least discussed, yet most pervasive stigmas in gender equality is female menstruation. In every country, the veil of silence around menstruation contributes to sexism that can hold women back in their personal lives and professional careers.
In a series of studies to be released this week by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and UN Women, researchers found that women in Central and West Africa lack access to clean water, private spaces and well-designed toilets, depriving them of a place to clean themselves and change with both privacy and dignity. 64 percent of women and girls interviewed in Cameroon, for example, said there are no toilets in any of the public places they frequent, including where they work.
This culture of silence is pervasive among women in Central and West Africa, where women lack basic information. 82 percent of respondents in Cameroon said that they had heard of menstruation, but did not know what caused it. 40 percent of girls and women surveyed in the Kedougou region of Senegal said that they were frightened by their first period.
The consequences of this taboo hit hardest in the least developed parts of the world, where silence translates into a lack of services and education for women and girls.
Inadequate infrastructure and guidelines for women results in a staggering economic loss, dragging these poor regions into further cycles of poverty. 96 percent of surveyed women in Kedougou, for example, did not regularly go to work while they were menstruating, according to the WSSCC/UN Women study. Access to toilets also improves literacy rates. More than half of girls who drop out of primary school in sub-Saharan Africa do so because of a lack of separate toilets and easy access to safe water, according to the ONE campaign. "
rest at link
"One of the least discussed, yet most pervasive stigmas in gender equality is female menstruation. In every country, the veil of silence around menstruation contributes to sexism that can hold women back in their personal lives and professional careers.
In a series of studies to be released this week by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and UN Women, researchers found that women in Central and West Africa lack access to clean water, private spaces and well-designed toilets, depriving them of a place to clean themselves and change with both privacy and dignity. 64 percent of women and girls interviewed in Cameroon, for example, said there are no toilets in any of the public places they frequent, including where they work.
This culture of silence is pervasive among women in Central and West Africa, where women lack basic information. 82 percent of respondents in Cameroon said that they had heard of menstruation, but did not know what caused it. 40 percent of girls and women surveyed in the Kedougou region of Senegal said that they were frightened by their first period.
The consequences of this taboo hit hardest in the least developed parts of the world, where silence translates into a lack of services and education for women and girls.
Inadequate infrastructure and guidelines for women results in a staggering economic loss, dragging these poor regions into further cycles of poverty. 96 percent of surveyed women in Kedougou, for example, did not regularly go to work while they were menstruating, according to the WSSCC/UN Women study. Access to toilets also improves literacy rates. More than half of girls who drop out of primary school in sub-Saharan Africa do so because of a lack of separate toilets and easy access to safe water, according to the ONE campaign. "
rest at link
