For gender equality, menstrual equity is vital, as it matters for education, health and the economy. Increasing awareness, providing easy access and solving problems at work can strengthen women and break down numerous barriers.
Menstrual equity is important and usually goes unnoticed when considering gender equality. In many countries, millions of girls and women struggle to care for their periods safely and with pride. Without menstrual supplies, clean toilets, or instruction about menstruation, women are absent from school more, suffer health issues and encounter difficulties at work due to childbearing, all of which add to the unfair treatment of women. Better menstrual products allow girls to attend school and earn money of their own, improving their independence in the future. Facing stigma, poor infrastructure and inappropriate policies, women, while working or doing other activities in public, suffer incredible hardship. A failure to care for menstrual health also has consequences for the wider economic and social development of any society.
By ensuring menstrual equity, we support making sanitary products accessible, fight negative views about menstruation and support menstrual care in educational and work settings. Putting more attention on menstruation is important because it helps women and girls reach equal opportunities in every field of society, as they face fewer challenges. Until menstrual equity is achieved, true gender equality cannot exist, so this problem must be addressed quickly.
What Does Menstrual Equity Mean to You?
Menstrual equity means giving all women and girls an equal chance to use menstrual products, sanitation and get information, to prevent menstruation from blocking their involvement in health, education or economic life.
What is Menstrual Equity?
Menstrual equity is about more than providing items; it also covers removing shame, spreading this fact and passing policies. It requires that menstrual supplies are available and within the budget of everyone, supported by education about menstrual health for every girl and woman.
The Difficulty of Living Supportably
All over the world, many women and girls face challenges with menstruation as they cannot afford essential products. A lot of locations in the world tax sanitary pads and tampons or set a price that is impossible for low-income women to afford. Because there are not enough toilets in rural areas, people have to use unsafe toilets.
Problems Related to Menstrual Stigma and Cultural Bars
Talking about menstruation is still considered a forbidden subject in many cultures, stopping important conversations and teaching. Girls frequently learn misinformation that causes them to feel ashamed and embarrassed. There are places where participation in everyday religious and social activities is blocked from those who menstruate.
Impact on People’s Educational and Job Opportunities
A lack of appropriate menstrual facilities for girls in schools can lead to their missing important lessons and lowering their chances for education and good job prospects. The absence of good restrooms and break policies at work makes menstruation uncomfortable for many women and reduces how productivity.
Public Policies and Promoting Social Transformation
Both government agencies and organizations should guarantee free or subsidized menstrual products, increase menstruation knowledge in schools and arrange for menstrual care at workplaces. Campaigns supporting menstrual equity help reduce the shame around it and make sure menstrual health is recognized.
Making menstrual equity a priority is one way for societies to equalize genders and ensure no one suffers from a cyclic process.
Effects on the Education System
Menstrual equality has a big impact on girls who attend schools in disadvantaged communities. Because there are not enough menstrual products, facilities and appropriate policies are missing, girls are often sick or absent from school.
Low attendance in Schools
In numerous parts of the world, many schools have dirty and difficult-to-access toilets, no trash cans and pricey menstrual products. For this reason, many girls who menstruate must stay away from classes because they feel shy or uneasy. A lack of proper sanitation in country-sides can cause girls to drop out of school during their cycles, leading to missing classes.
Effects on a Person’s Future Education
Missing many school days affects how well a person does academically and feels about themselves. Many times, when girls are suffering from monthly dysfunction, they lose out on opportunities for learning and work as a result. The difference in the number of male and female students keeps increasing which contributes to gender inequality in many professions.
Emotional and Mental Influence
Apart from the physical challenges, the negative way menstruation is often seen leads to distress in young girls. If menstruation is seen as something shameful in society, students usually do not talk about their needs or look for support. Being afraid of being left out, many students don’t take part in both school and after-school activities which affects their development.
Promoting Menstrual Equity at Educational Institutions
It is necessary to create policies that support students during menstruation. Ensuring access to menstrual hygiene products at little or no cost, offering sanitary facilities and including menstrual education in schools are what governments and institutions should do. Talking together about menstruation can make it more usual and lead to less stigma.
Help Girls Achieve Through Education
When schools ensure menstrual equity, they encourage young girls to keep learning and not lag behind. Sharing information and resources makes sure menstruation doesn’t stop them which leads to equality between genders and healthier economic and social lives.
Giving every girl the same access to education and productive lives during menstrual periods means much more than caring for bodily health.
How health and well-being are impacted
Having menstrual equity extends past supplying products; it concerns health issues important to your body and mind. If menstrual care is poor, you may develop infections, feel bad mentally and face social isolation.
When Menstrual Hygiene Is Not Proper
If girls do not have safe menstrual supplies or enough clean water, it leads to a higher number of infections, especially in the urinary tract and reproductive systems. Unable to purchase paper towels, some people choose unclean rags or newspapers. This greatly raises the chance of contracting health problems.
Problems Affecting Health throughout Life
Lack of proper menstrual care may result in lasting problems for women’s reproductive health. Many infections and problems with menstruation that are not treated may harm a woman’s ability to have a baby or to have a healthy pregnancy. When marginalized communities lack information and treatment, the existing problems are made worse.
Being Comfortable with Emotions
Because menstruation is kept hush and often considered shameful, lots of people feel anxious, embarrassed and cut off from others. Because menstruating individuals expect to be criticized, they don’t get the help they need which causes anxiety. Mindset problems can develop if girls don’t have privacy to manage their periods.
What Results From Social Exclusion
Because of certain taboos, many people are separated from others and aren’t allowed to fully take part in normal activities. There are communities where those who menstruate are kept away from religious sites, family functions or interactions with others, maintaining a prominent feeling of marginalization among women and girls.
Problems Arising from Social Exclusion
Traditions in some societies keep people who menstruate from being included in general daily life. There are places where menstruating women and girls are refused entry to religious areas, family celebrations, or public events, ensuring they always feel excluded and less important.
Improving Menstrual Health and Wellness
Taking care of women’s menstruation means helping them learn, providing healthcare and laws that help and ending any stigma attached. It is important for governments and organizations to pay attention to menstrual awareness, offer guidance from doctors and encourage the public to discuss periods freely to better include everyone.
Dealing with the health and well-being concerns related to menstruation is one of the ways we can reach gender equity and protect everyone from problems due to biology.
Participating in the Economy & Workplace Challenges
Menstrual equity helps women take an equal part in work and the wider economy. Failing to address menstrual challenges affects a woman’s productivity, professional standing and financial position.
Discrimination at work
A lot of workplaces are not equipped with clean bathrooms, places to get rid of menstrual products or flexible rules for handling menstrual symptoms. Because workplaces tend to follow strict rules, many women suffer discomfort and this can seriously hinder their work and job happiness.
Unequal Chances for Economic Growth
Paying for menstrual products year after year hits hardest on women who have less money. If menstrual hygiene is expensive, it affects a person’s ability to earn, so basic needs usually take priority over periods, which can be harmful over the long term.
How Stigma Affects Chances at Career
Being unable to talk about menstruation in the workplace keeps many women from getting the help they need. Being afraid of criticism or appearing weak keeps many people from talking about their menstrual symptoms, which limits their opportunities for promotion and leadership.
Employers Can Help Make Periods More Equitable
By giving away or subsidizing period products, setting aside time for those with menstrual symptoms and making everyone feel welcome in discussing these needs, workplaces can help make menstruation fairer. Talking about menstruation in a workplace can help everyone be healthier and achieve better results.
Making Menstruation Inclusion Count in Economic Growth
Supporting menstrual equity encourages more women to contribute to the workforce and results in equal pay for men and women. Removing menstrual barriers at work helps businesses become more productive, see fewer employees call in sick and reduce turnover, all supporting the economy.
If companies and economies treat menstrual health seriously, they can help ensure that no woman is hindered by it in their career and income.
Ways to Achieve Menstrual Equity
There is a need to change some rules so that menstrual equity can be reached. If we improve affordability, access and overcome stigma around menstruation, no one will face barriers to having a dignified and open life.
Making it Easier
It is important for governments and organizations to make sure menstrual products are both available and affordable. Efforts like subsidizing or giving away menstrual products and giving tax relief on them can ease the money pressures for marginalized women.
Boosting Infrastructure for Managing Menstruation
In all schools, workplaces and public areas, facilities should be clean and equipped with proper sanitation, as well as access to sanitary products. Infrastructure investments help keep menstruation from affecting a woman’s chances in school or at work.
Policy advocacy
New laws are essential for reaching menstrual equity. It is necessary for governments to guarantee menstrual product availability, ensure cleanliness in schools and offices and let employees rest during menstrual trouble.
Duties of Corporations and Updates to Workplace Policies
Making the workplace menstrual-friendly can be done by giving rest breaks, free personal products and clear policies. An inclusive workplace can be created when people feel free to discuss menstruation there.
Engaging people at the community level
Many important changes are driven by local organizations, activists and NGOs. Involving people in their communities to distribute menstrual products, inform young people and back fair policies is key to secure development.
Conclusion
Progress toward true gender equality begins with menstrual equity. A lack of proper hygiene goods, learning opportunities and helpful policies makes it difficult for millions of women and girls to be healthy to attend classes and work. Failing to address menstrual health causes problems across societies, maintaining existing inequalities and closing off potential for women. Addressing menstrual equity means that governments, workplaces and communities all have to take certain actions to improve things. Addressing menstruation as a main health and human issue helps to guarantee that nobody is excluded because they experience periods naturally. Making menstrual equity widely available matters to all and it is something we all must support. Soon, menstruation will no longer limit anyone if people join forces, speak up and never stop working for change.