How Nigerian girls struggle to navigate menstrual hygiene

Though the growing cost of pads have sparked conversations around safe, hygienic and cost-effective alternatives, the continued patronage of sanitary towels reveal it is still a strong preference for many Nigerian girls and women. In this report, Daily Trust Saturday examines the growing cost of sanitary pads amidst concerns of menstrual hygiene. The topic of […]

Though the growing cost of pads have sparked conversations around safe, hygienic and cost-effective alternatives, the continued patronage of sanitary towels reveal it is still a strong preference for many Nigerian girls and women. In this report, Daily Trust Saturday examines the growing cost of sanitary pads amidst concerns of menstrual hygiene.

The topic of menstrual hygiene in Nigeria is said to be influenced by poverty, as a 2022 report by the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that about 63 per cent of Nigerians live in poverty, a factor that has been linked to the inability of a fraction of women of reproductive age to access safe and hygienic products for their menstruation.

Cost of Sanitary Pads

Daily Trust Saturday reports that the price of sanitary pads in the market ranges from N600 to N5,000. A shop owner in Lokogoma, Abuja, who spoke to our reporter on the basis of anonymity, said less than two years ago, pads sold for as low as N250 but lamented that the steady increase in price was disturbing.

She added that, “I won’t be surprised if the prices get higher than this in days to come.”

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Meanwhile, the rippling effect of the recent subsidy removal on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) has affected prices of goods and services in the country, which might invariably take its toll on the current prices of over-the-counter menstrual hygiene products.

Though some government groups, non governmental organizations as well as good-spirited individuals have been said to augment the hardship by providing free sanitary towels occasionally for school girls, some quotas have called for a subsidy in the price of sanitary towels.

According to reports by the World Bank, poor menstrual hygiene can lead to dangerous health risks like reproductive and urinary tract infections, which can lead to future infertility and birth complications; while not having access to hand-washing facilities can lead to the spread of other infections, like Hepatitis B and thrush.

Alternatives to sanitary towels

While some women are financially advantaged to have options when it comes to menstrual hygiene products, others improvise alternatives as a means to push through amidst scares resources.

Dark skinned, slender looking 27-year-old Maryam, originally from Fanshze village of Makera located in the Kontagora area of Niger State, recalled her early menstrual days in an interview with our correspondent.

With a bashful sense of irritation, the mother of one recounts the days when she used to rely on old rags comprising of different fabrics, sown by hand, into a thick pad-like form for her menstrual circle.

“When I started my period, my mother gave me a piece of reusable cloth for my period which she sewed from pieces of rags into a pad-like piece. After using that for four to five months, I had to stop using the reusable pad and resorted to larger rags that are more absorbent.

I only started using sanitary towels when I left my village for the city. A woman I stayed with then in the city bought pads for me and taught me how to use them,” she said.

Recounting her experience in Hausa language with a faint dash of Pidgin English, Maryam who is hoping to get the chance to continue her education explained how uncomfortable the rags were for her.

She recollected that her mother recently confessed to never using pads throughout her reproductive age.

Just like Maryam’s mother, girls and women in so many rural communities in the country have relied on unconventional solutions, during their menstrual cycles.

Though Maryam now earns little money from sewing clothes, a trade she is still learning, she says it is helping her to afford sanitary towels for herself. However, she still laments that the growing cost of sanitary towels has thrown her into alternating between it and rags.

With limited access to basic necessities such as clean water and electricity, one of the most pressing issues for girls and women is the lack of access to hygienic sanitary towels.

Though the people of Fanshze have been forced out of the village as a result of insecurity, and resettled in Makera and Kontagora, Maryam hopes that the poor menstrual hygiene narrative has changed for the girls and women in that community.

Meanwhile, another young mother of one who wants to be referred to as Aisha told Daily Trust Saturday that when she was younger, she used rags and later tissue paper for her menstruation.

She said “my form mistress taught us how to use tissue paper which she described as the safest thing to use to avoid infections.

Later on, my aunt introduced me to sanitary pads when she gave me one pack to use. From then, I started saving money anytime my dad gave us money to use during break period in school. I’d rather save it to buy sanitary pad.”

Aisha said that while using rags, she had an infection. “My private part turned red, with rashes everywhere, I felt pain and itches.” She added that using tissue paper was another issue because “we were not told that any time we visit the rest room, the tissue paper should be changed, so the tissue will get soaked and stuck,” she said.

Safe menstrual hygiene

The increasing prices of sanitary pads in the country has in recent times called for debates around why women have to face difficulties in accessing a necessary commodity that aids their menstrual health.

These conversations have also included casual banters, especially on social media, around why some men can access condoms for free when sex is an option, while women pay heavily for sanitary pads when nature subjects them to experience a monthly menstrual circle.

In Nigeria, an estimated 85 million women of reproductive age (15-49) are faced with the need to use pads for menstruation every month, this figure is according to a 2021 data released by the World Bank.

Though the report clearly states that the figure is just an estimate, noting the numbers could be higher, poverty has been said to affect the chances of some of these women’s access to safe menstrual alternatives.

Dr Yamuna Aminu Kani, a gynaecologist at the Federal University Teaching Hospital, in Jigawa State, while emphasising the importance of general hygiene during menstrual periods, acknowledged that sanitary towels are the common menstrual hygiene product that women and girls use. She said others preferred products like tampons and menstrual cups which she describes as safe alternatives.

Though she added that “after some hours for all the methods, we recommend not more than six hours for one – piece of pad or tampon or the insertion, it should be removed and disposed.

“Then mostly in very low resource settings, women use cloth that they wash after some time. So, the same thing somewhat they do, they cut the cloth into smaller sizes so that they can change them frequently. It’s reusable, just like the cup, but where the problem is, is keeping it hygienic because it has to be washed and dried and kept in a place where it will not be contaminated otherwise if it is contaminated some form of infection from the environment can easily get into the body,” she said.

Meanwhile, Alhassan Yahaya, Executive Director SAIF advocacy foundation in Gombe State, who spoke with Daily Trust Saturday about findings from a research they conducted on the effects of poor menstrual hygiene on school girls, lamented that their findings were heart breaking.

While noting that lack of access to safe and hygienic menstruation has contributed to the growing number of out-of-school girls, he appealed to relevant stakeholders to rise to the occasion.

“First of all, we will call on government to make sure that sanitary pad is distributed free of charge among young girls in schools. Parents, as a matter of urgency, should have it at the back of their mind that at the end of every month, just the way you are expected to bring food for your children and family, it is expected that you shop for sanitary pads for your female children,” he said.