According to the Study International, more than 1.2 billion women all over the world do not have access to basic sanitation. Menstrual periods are open secrets but period poverty suffered by many women in Nigeria is shrouded in absolute secrecy. Another report has it that women that experience period poverty is likely to suffer from anxiety or depression. Jennifer Ugwa of The ICIR writes about the plight of women in Abuja communities that are plagued by period poverty.

THE United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 6 are aimed towards ending poverty in all its forms everywhere, ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. This goal extends to paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations. But these goals are yet to be attained.

However, while some would rather smile through their problem, few are ready to tell their stories, and among this number is Fatima.

“Su wanene ,Menene Sukeyi? Zasu bamu kudi ne” (Who are they? What are they doing? Are they “giving us money”?) Fatima asks her companion.
“Sun zo suyi Magana Akan lafiya ku ne, Naji an zo an raba muku pad”, “They are here to talk to you about your health, I hear they came to share pad,” the friend replies as she turns her head sharply with a look of disbelief towards the reporter in their midst from the end of the room where she is reclining on the floor.

-Fatima is 25 years old, a stay -at home mother who has been married for eight years with four children. During an interview with The ICIR, she brings out a piece of old cloth she uses for the menstrual period from a black polythene bag. She ensures her friends are not around when she brings it out. She cannot remember the precise time she started menstruating but one thing she does remember is that she has been using pieces of old cloth for her monthly sanitary needs all her life.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZWfyE6e9to

READMORE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/how-period-poverty-plagued-women-in-abuja-communities/