On the occasion of World Menstrual Hygiene Day on Saturday 28 May, several West African feminist associations organized this weekend a marathon of actions, initiatives and popularization, which they named “the 72 hours of menses in Africa”.
With our correspondent in Abidjan, Sidy Yansane
The subject of menstruation remains taboo on the continent, but yet the menstrual cycle can have serious consequences on the schooling of young girls and on the sexual health of women.
In Abidjan from May 26 to 28, conferences were organized across the city, a flash mob at the large Koumassi crossroads, and 18,000 sanitary napkins distributed by the NGO Support for mothers and children in distress, women prisoners in the MACA, the largest prison in the country… Ivorian feminist organizations have led the campaign for 72 hours of menstruation.
Young girls are particularly targeted. For a box of disposable pads the same price as a kilo of rice, access to menstrual hygiene products is difficult, according to Khady Cissé, founder of the organization for the Health of Children, Women and family: Some girls use old newspapers for protection, old pieces of scarves, foam mattresses. You see how toxic it is… They don’t even have underwear. They therefore prefer to stay at home because at school, there are no anti-spasmodics, places to change or even water. »
But for the 32-year-old midwife, the real challenge is to lift the taboo that prevents debate on the issue of menstruation. ” In Africa, you are told when you have your period, you must not go near boys. But it is after the rules that we have the period of ovulation. That’s where the pregnancies are. Why not start with the basics, to break the taboos and tell our parents that it’s natural. It’s a phenomenon that highlights women: if you don’t have your period, can you procreate? »
Feminist organizations, which are calling for the abolition of taxes on menstrual hygiene materials, are now striving to collect data, which is almost non-existent in Côte d’Ivoire.