QHow many wars are there for the purpose of a war? So many. And for women there are even more. Because they do not risk “only” being killed by bombs or to see their children die before their eyes.
But they also risk being raped or trafficked. Women’s wars, after all, they are a lot when you are at peace, let alone when you are at war.
The menstrual cycle does not stop with war
Among these so serious, there is another of lesser intensitybut still very important, and on which there is very little attention.
It is about the menstrual cycle issue. Yes, because the cycle does not stop during the war and women, even if forced to flee, still find themselves having to face those five to six days every month. It may seem like a secondary issue in times of war, but in reality this is not the case at all. Because the lack of sanitation products causes great health risks.
Women’s health at risk
In fact, in the absence of anything else, women use what they find, from garbage to already dirty rags. But this, as Claire Barnett the executive director of UN Women UK, global organization that works to make gender equality a reality, can cause severe infections even dangerous for life. Lack of access to water, to toilets and sanitation facilitiesin fact, sometimes it can be more lethal than deaths directly from war.
Additionally, adds Rachel Grocott, director of communications for Bloody Good, association that provides cycle products to refugees, when and if cycle products are available, they come sold at such high prices that women are forced to choose between these and food, and the choice is not difficult.
Menstrual cycle: sanitary napkins in humanitarian aid
It is not a question of dignity, but of necessity. For this reason, to adequately cope with menstruation, sanitary napkins should be part of humanitarian aid as much as anything else, Gracott points out.
In 2017 a study on refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon, found that among the refugees, 60 percent had no access to health care products during their period, nor to underwear. But also found that half of the women surveyed suffered from urinary tract infections which were not being treated.
Bloody Good Period education program manager Terri Harris, after working in a refugee camp in Lebanon, had already reported that for refugee women the lack of menstrual products is a big concern. Emphasizing how the use, instead of pads, of old rags, pieces of moss, pieces of mattressescoupled with the lack of water and sanitation, led to serious infections and other health problems.
In addition, the acute stress condition to which war subjects, which can result in heavier, more painful, irregular cyclesall of which require greater access to products.
Do not overlook the specific needs of refugee women
During conflicts, associations argue, i specific needs of women are “often overlooked”, including in terms of the products people send across borders. And this clearly shows how the menstrual cycle is viewed in general. But since most of the adults on the run are women, the need will be great and the response will have to be adequate.
For this UN Women asks for urgent donations. As well as Ella Lambert, a student from Bristol who has been managing since 2020 The Pachamama Project, organization that makes reusable sanitary pads for refugees around the world is raising money to donate disposable hygiene products for those who have fled.
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