BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE -- Growing up in the rural Chibi district of Masvingo in Zimbabwe, Tsitsi Moyo, 16, has never used a sanitary pad. She has never seen a tampon. Other sanitary wear such as keepers and moon cups, small internally worn, reusable, menstrual cups, too are luxuries beyond her reach.
Moyo, a short and pudgy-faced teenager has her own secret way to deal with her menstrual cycle -- her old blue t-shirt. She cut it into pieces and rolls it into large strips, thick enough to blot blood and prevent it from dripping down her legs.
“I started my period when I was 10 years old,” she says, ashamed. “The country’s economy was crushing. I vividly remember my aunt going out to look for cotton wool from all supermarkets in town. After waiting for a long time, she returned empty handed. She went into her bedroom and returned holding several pieces of cloth from her pile of rags,” recalls Moyo.
Moyo says her aunt showed her how to use the rags and offered one caution: never let a living soul see the rags. The consequence would be infertility, her aunt warned, passing on an old superstition, common among the tribal cultures of Zimbabwe that still shun menstruation.
Moyo says she cursed growing up. She says the cramps and unhygienic rags stuffed in her underwear forced her to stay home from school during her menstrual cycle.
“From then [on], I realized that once every month I had to be imprisoned and suffer the curse of womanhood,” says Moyo.
Economic and Environmental Conditions Impact Girls
Six years ago, Moyo’s aunt could not find or afford cotton wool for Moyo to use during her period. Today, the economy in Zimbabwe is slightly better but a new problem has emerged that impacts a woman’s ability to menstruate in healthy conditions – a water shortage.
The long periods of drought prevent local residents from regularly accessing a water supply. The water shortage also prevents Moyo from washing the rags she uses during her period, forcing her to reuse dirty rags month after month.
“We have daily water cuts and sometimes we can go for days without water. This means that when water comes we wash many rags,” Moyo explains. If she washes and dries her rags in the sun, “people will know what they are used for,” she says embarrassed and recalling her aunt’s warning to never let people see her rags.
Local pastor Febie Chuma, of Noah’s Ark Ministries, confirms Moyo’s plight. “Women are vulnerable to disease because they can not properly wash the rags they are using as pads. The water supply situation is poor, but most worrisome is that the women do not wash the rags with soaps or detergents because such items are not available,” says Chuma.
These conditions also result in numerous health risks for young women here. Dr. Lucia Takundwa, a senior doctor at Parirenyatwa Hospital, Zimbabwe’s largest referral hospital, says she sees many women who experience medical issues due to the unsanitary conditions available during menstruation. Takundwa says the most common problems she sees stem from women using dirty rags that are not changed or washed frequently. Similarly she says women who do have access to wash their rags often do so with unsafe water and dry them in filthy or damp conditions.
“This poor practice results in health risks such as scabies in vaginal areas, urinal infection, abnormal pains and complication during pregnancy,” says Takundwa.
Society Still Regards Menstruation as Taboo
Experts in Zimbabwe working to establish greater rights for women and girls say women still suffer humiliation and isolation during their periods.
The dominant tribal cultures in Zimbabwe, the Shona and Ndebele, do not openly discuss women’s issues like menstruation. It is generally considered inappropriate for a girl or woman to discuss matters of menstruation with men. And in a culture where men control the purse strings, it often means that money is not made available for the purchase of cotton wool, moon cups and other sanitary items.
”The basic needs of women, particularly sanitary wear, are not prioritized in family budgets,” says Frank Jabson, 35, program manager at the Creative Center for Communication and Development, a local NGO working for women’s rights and other social progress. “The women that I work with say their needs are not prioritized because the husband only budgets for food, rent, electricity, water bills and transport, " says Jabson.
The high cost and scarce availability are constant across Zimbabwe. Locally manufactured pads sell for $1.50 USD for a pack of eight small pads. Imported pads generally sell for around $2 USD for a pack of eight. In a country where the average person lives on less than $1 USD a day, very few families can afford to buy sanitary pads for their young girls.
Menstruation Hinders Education
For school-aged girls like Moyo, a menstrual period not only means wadded up rags and unhygienic conditions, it also means time away from school.
Sithandazile Dube 32, a local grade school teacher says that girl’s lack of access to pads is a great disadvantage to girls because they stop attending classes as soon as their menstrual periods start.
“On average, a girl misses five days per month if her menstrual [period] occurs during school days. In a year girls could [lose] about 60 days of learning. It will be very difficult for such girls to cope with their male counterparts who have no such setbacks,” says Dube.
Dube advocates for government assistance in making sanitary pads available for girls who are in school. Dube says the fact that girls use rags, newspaper and tissue to absorb blood during their cycles also creates health hazards in the schools as much of the material is not disposed of properly.
“Most of the time school toilets are blocked because the girls dump used newspapers and rags into the system. Some throw away the used material into dumping sites or overflowing bins that are not frequently emptied and as such it is common to see these things all over the school premises,” says Dube.
Pastor Chuma of Noah’s Ark Ministries, who is also a primary school teacher, says the high cost of pads and other sanitary items has serious psychological implications for girls.
“Many girls who have no access to proper sanitary pads find it difficult to participate in other curriculum activities such as sports, physical education and other practical subjects,” says Chuma. “Girls can not openly tell their male teachers that they are going through their periods and so girls suffer silently, losing their self-confidence, self-esteem and end up living a reclusive life,” says Chuma.
Pastor Chuma says schools should employ female teachers who are trained to provide counselling to girls about their cycles and to urge local families to “accept menstruation as a natural process that was designed by God.”
Advocates fight for Safe Menstruation as a Human Right
Many of the organizations in Zimbabwe working to advance women’s rights are calling on local leaders to prioritize the availability of sanitary pads for women and girls, calling the lack of access a violation of basic human rights and an affront to human dignity.
Tholakele Khumalo 53, director of Haven Trust, a local half way house for abused women and girls says by ignoring the issue the government is denying women their right to dignity and respect.
“The exorbitant prices of pads prevent women from participating actively in their own development and the development of the country. Women who have no access to pads do not attend important functions at local and national levels. This may be the reason why there are few women in decision making roles,” says Khumalo.
Khumalo says sanitary pads should be as easily available as condoms, which are distributed for free in public areas, including bus terminals, public restrooms, hair saloons, and nightclubs.
