Understanding and Tackling Period Poverty with No Woman Without CEO Scarlet Bjornson
My introduction to the stigma that comes with the monthly period probably started with my dad. He was a great man in many ways, but he was easily irritated with seeing blood on the bathroom floor. He frowned deeply at blood stained dresses or pants. He called us ‘dirty’ when he saw traces of blood! We grew up with my dad as he was separated from my mum at the time. 800 million people menstruate daily, yet, it is the last thing we are comfortable talking about. The stigma is real actually. We whisper telling our girlfriend/s that we are ‘on’. That discomfort may be culturally and socially induced. For some girls, that time of the month is an uncomfortable time. As a girl, I felt it got in the way at track and field events at school and other school activities. In parts of Africa and Asia, 1 in 10 girls are unable to go to school when their period is on. This can easily project into poverty as these girls grow up in adulthood.
Back then in Nigeria, we used clothes, which was not very comfortable and we had to wash it and then reuse it. In the interview below, Scarlet said she had heard of women who used leaves, plastic and other uncomfortable materials. The problem with these materials that they are uncomfortable and unsanitary products can lead to infections in girls and women.
Meeting Scarlet Bjornson and talking about period poverty felt very intimate for me. I loved her confidence. She feels we need to be open and as a society, she believes we can get to the place where we can say “hi, my name is Tee and I am on my period.” I hope I do not pass on to my daughter -the unease about my period -I got from my father. If I cannot articulate it, its unfortunate. I would want my daughter to be able to speak her mind clearly and definitely especially about the stigma that surrounds menstruating.
What is period poverty?
Nearly a quarter of Canadian women and a third of women under 25 have reportedly struggled to afford menstrual products for themselves or their defendants. It is also estimated that Canadians who menstruate typically spend up to $6,000 in their lifetime on menstrual hygiene products.
Advocacy is one of what Scarlet does at No Woman Without: there is the space for public information and knowledge about the ordeal we go through when we are menstruating. Some women need a shot. Some women are unable to work. Some women are accused of being lazy when they are undergoing the trauma of the menstruating period. We need to talk about this in public spaces. We need to be able to talk to politicians, policy makers and business people that menstruating is part of the cycle of life and when some women complain of headaches and body fatigue during their periods, it is a real thing. Dysmenorrhea and premenstrual syndrome occurs in women.
Should sanitary products be essential and free?
Scotland is the first country in the world to make period products free for all. The argument is period products should be accessible to all like tissue paper is. No matter, how comfortable we look in Edmonton, 1 in 4 of us wont be able to afford sanitary products.
The last word
