{"id":159866,"date":"2021-12-10T04:19:19","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T04:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=159866"},"modified":"2021-12-10T04:34:29","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T04:34:29","slug":"period-poverty-unveiled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.iium.edu.my\/?p=159866","title":{"rendered":"Period poverty unveiled"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ainina Hasnul<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you never had to struggle buying sanitary products,\nconsider yourself fortunate because to some, its a luxury beyond reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many confusion surrounds the recent statement made by Nurul\nAshikin Mabahwi, head of Pejuangs Young Womens Youth Wing. She addressed the\nneed for free sanitary products to be provided for lower-income women from the\nB40 group in order to reduce unnecessary pregnancy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading from the headline, it does sound rather absurd. However, this absurdity exists; lower-income women are resorting to pregnancy due to period poverty. Hence, why it is important for us to truly understand the concept of this topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the statement was released, many online users\nquestioned the logic behind such a decision. Among the arguments put out was on\nthe correlation of free pads and pregnancy and how this kind of support can\nreduce pregnancy among lower-income families. Arent the costs of pregnancy and\nraising a child more than buying sanitary pads?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To provide answers to the question, we need to imagine\nwalking in the \u02dcpoverty shoes. To live from hand to mouth drives you into a\ncorner. What we need to understand is that those in poverty focus on short-term\ngoals rather than long-term ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are those who call it poor decision making, which is\neasy to say, speaking from a position of privilege. This is where empathy\nshould come into play. Living in such conditions, decisions are made on how to\ngo by today and tomorrow, instead of the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning ahead may in fact be another luxury those in\npoverty could not afford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand the topic further, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) describes period poverty as a condition where low-income women struggle to afford menstrual products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) ActionAid calls it \u0153a\nglobal issue affecting women and girls who dont have access to safe, hygienic\nsanitary products, and\/or who are unable to manage their periods with dignity,\nsometimes due to community stigma and sanction.\u009d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, it is the inaccessibility of menstrual products\nand washing facilities among lower-income women. Due to these limitations, some\nwomen resort to getting pregnant or fasting as it disrupts the menstruation\ncycle. Womens Aid Organisation (WAO) research states that others find\nalternative products such as coconut husks, tattered clothes, banana leaves and\nnewspapers to replace pads and tampons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some even find pieces of cloth from rubbish bins. Taking the\nquote \u0153One man’s trash is another man’s treasure\u009d literally. The\ninaccessibility to clean water forces them to wash menstrual products in the\nrivers and ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These alternatives may sound unbelievable, but youd be\nsurprised of what people would do on the brink of desperation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is worse is that period poverty goes beyond the issue\nof financial limitation. The concept of poverty is multidimensional, which is\noften overlooked by the public who has a fixed perception that poverty simply\nmeans lack of money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) covers a range of\ndimensions including education, health, living standards and income. If closely\nobserved, all in which are linked to each other. Period poverty would be a\ngreat example of multidimensional poverty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now lets connect the dots. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Improper menstrual management caused by period poverty could\npotentially lead to health problems such as urinary tract infection, bacterial\ninfection and reproductive infection. All of these risks were stated by the\nUnited Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equally concerning, the relationship between period poverty\nand school dropouts has many times been mentioned when discussing period\npoverty. The lack of access to menstruation products and washing facilities\nresulted in many cases of school absenteeism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both wealthy and underdeveloped countries like the United Kingdom and Rwanda respectively, many girls skip school days due to inability to manage periods properly. Past research has shown that in the UK, 49 percent of girls aged 14 to 21 missed an entire school day due to period poverty. In Rwanda, 50 school days were missed due to the same problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same case is found in Malaysia. Zuraidah Daut, a social\nactivist investigated the absence of a girl from a school in Kelantan. She\nfound that the reason behind the girls absence was due to inability to afford\nsanitary products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of that, lack of money limits purchase of pain\nrelievers for period pain. Hence, worries of period leakage and cramps hinders\nresults in absenteeism. The concern is that if this continues, some girls would\neventually drop out of school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only does the issue affect womens health, it also has\nlong-term effects on their education and productivity. This makes it a more\ncomplex issue than it already is. The severity of it costs a womans full\npotential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, as the pandemic continues, more households face\nfinancial hardship. This leaves more space for period poverty to grow. Although\nmany efforts have been made by NGOs and the government to provide basic\nnecessities to families in need, some essentials were left out of the list.\nEssential lists are cut short with only rent, food, electricity and water being\nthe utmost priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may be unintentional. However, the need for marginalised essential items such as sanitary products must not go unheeded. They are equally essential, especially since they are used monthly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nisha Sabanayagam, Programme and Operation Manager for the All Womens Action Society (AWAM), addressed the importance of being gender sensitive in implementing response programmes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides that, stigma and taboos surrounding the topic of menstruation limits discussions on the topic. In some cultures, this natural occurrence is deemed dirty. In some parts of Indonesia and Nepal, menstruating women were not allowed to sleep in family homes, hence resorted to sleeping in animal sheds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lack of awareness is evident as no official records of data related to period poverty in Malaysia is available anywhere. The first and only time it was brought up by the government was during the Budget 2022 announcement. It is only now that the Malaysia’s Women, Family and Community Development Ministry started digging into the matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just in Malaysia but in Southeast Asia in general, the\ntopic did not get enough awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The severity of the issue must be noted as period poverty is\njeopardising women by keeping them in a poverty trap. It leads to a cycle where\nthese families stay in poverty due to lack of education that may disrupt their\nwork opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, big applause goes to NGOs which have worked hard to raise awareness and provide assistance. In collaboration with AWAM, Kotex Malaysia has donated 500 pads while The Lost Food Project (TLFP) together with P&G Malaysia aimed high to provide 179 thousand pads through their #LetItFlow campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the government, taxation on menstruation products has\nbeen removed on June 1, 2018 after receiving a great demand by women across the\ncountry. Similarly, in Australia, India and Canada, taxes on menstruation\nproducts have been repealed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among others, demands were made towards the education ministry and the higher education ministry. They were urged to provide comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education in schools that involves both girls and boys. It would be beneficial for girls to learn at a young age matters concerning menstrual hygiene. Involvements of boys would cut down the stigma surrounding the topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully it would result in a more open and healthy\ndiscussion on menstruation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the tabling of Budget 2022, Tengku Zafrul Aziz, the\nfinance minister told the parliament that the government will provide monthly\nsupport of personal hygiene kits to 130 thousand low-income female teenagers.\nThis is an effort to combat the issue of period poverty. Overall, under the\nBudget 2022, the government has allocated more than RM11 million to high risk\nwomen’s mammogram and cervical screenings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a great start for Malaysia in combating the issue.\nHowever, relevant data within the nation needs to be gathered as soon as\npossible to identify the root of the problem. Clear indicators of the situation\nhelps shape better policies. Researchers can include the relationship of period\npoverty with education, social life and income gap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malaysia can also learn from other countries. In Britain, organisations were provided with two million pounds for efforts to stop period poverty globally. Scotland is one step ahead being the first country to have passed laws for free menstrual products. The Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Bill states that schools, universities and local authorities must provide menstrual products for free to those in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This could be a goal for Malaysia, although we are several steps behind. It does make one wonder if this issue is going to be resolved soon. Will Malaysia be able to break the taboos and combat this issue entirely? Especially for the sake of womens rights and dignity.***<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(This article is written as part of individual assignment series for Feature Writing class)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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