Period poverty

On November 24, 2020, Scotland became the first country in the world to make sanitary products free for all those in need.

A bill was introduced by Monica Lennon in the Scottish parliament to tackle period poverty. Lennon believes the provision of free sanitary products is important for people's dignity.

Under the bill, the Scottish government must set up a Scotland-wide scheme to allow free access to anyone who needs period products. Schools, colleges, and universities must make a range of period products available for free in their toilets. The Scottish government will have the power to make other public bodies provide period products for free.

Period poverty is the lack of access to sanitary products and the lack of awareness of menstrual hygiene education.

In Pakistan, period poverty is down to two key factors: sociocultural and financial constraints.

The sociocultural factors stigmatise menstruation, deeming it impure rather than biological. The irony is there is no stigma on men defecating in public but menstrual products are a "brown-bag special". Sadly, such is the power of patriarchy.

Financial constraints further make menstrual products unaffordable for poor women and force them to rely on practices bad for their reproductive and general health.

The provision of menstrual hygiene products is a basic necessity for women and others who require them. The state should focus on initiatives providing these products to its female citizens forming over 49% of its population.

Pakistan’s women already face neglect and patriarchal burden in their daily lives. The state should ensure our women have the means to manage their menstrual cycle in a dignified manner. The Constitution guarantees dignity as a fundamental right — the state should fulfil this right.

The Quran and Sunnah do not stigmatise menstruation. Then why does the state not ensure that menstrual hygiene gets taught in our schools? Women deserve to learn about something that dominates their lives, instead of being harmed by ignorance.

This lack of education is made evident in research among women in Karachi. Out of 353 participants, 176 were from the general population, and 177 were healthcare workers. At menarche, only 28.4% of the general population and 29.4% of healthcare workers knew of menses and proper placement of an absorbent. For both groups, the source of knowledge were mothers. The majority from the general population mentioned being scared when they menstruated for the first time.

Similar research in a public healthcare institute of Quetta contributes further evidence.

“Demographic characteristics revealed that the mean age of the respondents was 15 years. Mothers (67%) were the main source of menstruation-related information… 77.7% of our respondents never had a class regarding menstruation-related education in their schools.”

Lennon, according to The Scotsman, puts the cost of free sanitary products at £9.7 million a year but the Scottish government claims it to be £24 million.

Hypothetically, by scaling the figures for Pakistani women, such a programme would annually cost Pakistan anywhere between £371-917 million. Any talk on menstruation would barely make the news cycle due to the stigma attached to it. Therefore, it would be futile to think the Pakistani government would invest in our women.

Alternatively, the government can abolish all taxes on sanitary products, ensure their availability of in all public buildings, schools and universities, and include mandatory education for women on menstrual hygiene and safe practices in the proposed single national curriculum.

The state and male-dominated society already do little for this country’s women. We must give back to them to promote their health and decrease their hurdles.