Africa Month: I_Menstruate: A vision and movement for dignity, access and equity

Tracey Malawana is a Global Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity in South Africa and Joey Hasson is a Global Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity. Both have extensive experience as social justice activists and have contributed to South Africa's health and educational systems. They reconnected during the Global Atlantic Fellows Annual Convening in 2019 and later worked on movement building.??

Data about the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, known as period poverty, among school-going youth in South Africa are difficult to find. The indignity and injustice of this phenomenon are experienced by South Africa’s most marginalized youth, away from public and political attention. This report by the Africa Symposium on Improving Menstrual Health Management states that in Africa, one in 10 girls will miss school during their period, and between 10% and 40% of reported school absenteeism is due to a lack of access to menstrual products. Given our past experience as activists, we began considering options for launching a movement in South Africa to tackle this injustice in early 2022. To improve our understanding of the difficulties experienced by South African girls experiencing menstruation while in the school system, we successfully applied for an Ideate Grant from the Atlantic Institute.?

With the support of the grant, we began setting up a movement and conducted primary research on menstrual hygiene management in schools. Called I_Menstruate, the movement works to get rid of period poverty in South Africa through five pillars:?

• MOVEMENT BUILDING to spread our message and build the people power needed for change
• AWARENESS RAISING to address stigma and lack of menstrual education in schools and communities.?
• ADVOCACY to influence policy and budget decisions that affect people who menstruate.
• EDUCATION to equip ourselves and others with knowledge on reproductive health with a focus on menstrual hygiene.?
• SERVICES to directly empower girls by producing and offering their preferred menstrual hygiene products for sustainability purposes.

In late 2022, we conducted qualitative research in 18 schools. We visited two schools in the metropolitan or capital cities of each province in South Africa. We surveyed a total of 541 learners through focus groups to understand their experiences of menstruation and the effects on their schooling and dignity, as well as 18 teachers and/or principals.?

The preliminary findings show that 83% of the learners do not have regular access to menstrual hygiene products, which aligns with the results of other studies. This challenge is affecting the amount of time they spend in school with many staying away from the classroom when they have their period. Our research also shows that education about menstruation is insufficient and often too late.?

In March 2023, we launched the findings of the research at MH Baloyi Secondary School through a panel discussion at which we unpacked what dignity, access and equity mean in the context of menstrual hygiene in schools. Grade 10 schoolgirls were on the panel along with a teacher liaison officer, Dr. Mpume Zenda, a medical practitioner and founder of We See You; and Dr. Criselda Kananda, an activist, inspirational speaker and well-known broadcaster.?

We engaged organizations, experts and government departments responsible for gender and sexual reproductive health, including menstrual hygiene management. We also raised public awareness through media coverage in eNCA, Daily Maverick, Daily Thetha and an op-ed on what Freedom Day means for young woman in South Africa.?

We wish to live in a society where women and girls are not second-class citizens and where menstruation doesn’t interfere with education. The Ideate Grant gave us the opportunity to begin this journey.?

Find out more:

Web: https://imenstruate.org/