By Ragan M. Conteh
The Director of Girl Child Network, Sierra Leone (GCN-SL), Madam Anita Koroma, has revealed that menstruation is a monthly reality for billions of women and girls worldwide.
“Yet, in many countries, people still face serious challenges when it comes to managing their menstruation periods,” she noted.
She said myths, stigma and harmful gender norms, around menstruation, exacerbate the difficulties for girls and women across the world.
Madam Anita Koroma informed that, if not properly managed, menstruation can interrupt daily lives of women and girls. She disclosed that adolescents, especially, experience extreme painful periods, which can affect their attendance and performance in schools.
She went further that lack of adequate facilities and materials, restrictions on girls’ movements during their period and feeling ashamed or ‘unclean’ also contribute to girls dropping or skipping out of schools.
It is against this backdrop that his organization, which is one of the leading women organizations in Sierra Leone, the Girl Child Network (GCN) Sierra Leone, has secured lands in Bo, in the south of Sierra Leone, Makeni, in the north of Sierra Leone, and Waterloo, in the Western Rural District, for the construction of menstrual hygiene factories.
The Director furthered that taboos, myths and shame, surrounding menstruation, can lead to teasing, shaming and exclusion from daily activities on women and girls and has a negative effect on girls’ dignity.
Madam Anita Koroma made the assertion on Friday 30th April 2021 during the distribution of menstrual hygiene kits to students of Services Secondary School, Juba in the west of Freetown.
During the distribution ceremony, Madam Anita Koroma informed students that her organization is in partnership with the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
According to her, it has distributed 13,000 menstrual hygiene kits to students who are mostly in fishing communities in the Western Area Urban and Rural District.
She noted that they completed training on Menstrual Hygiene Management to 194 schools, including students and teachers, in the Western Rural and Urban Districts, respectively.
The purpose of the training on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in schools, according to the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Girl Child Sierra Leone, Madam Anita Koroma, was to better understand the challenges girls face due to menstruation and describe factors which influence girls’ experiences during menstruation.
According to Madam Anita, the training also creates a supportive school environment for adolescent girls, women and girls in fishing communities, adding that the decision to train these communities is to safeguard schoolgirls’ overall health and wellbeing.
She pointed out that participants, from several primary and secondary schools, including teachers, were engaged on a variety of qualitative methods, which focused on girls, boys and teachers, respectively.
She is convinced that menstrual period is not a taboo topic, adding that she was not surprised to learn that the first time, most girls in Sierra Leone get their period, they have no idea what is happening.
“As a result, girls and women are often expected to refrain from normal activities, such as bathing or cooking and may even be banished from the home during their period. These restrictions and negative attitudes towards menstruation affect girls’ self-esteem.”
In his submission, the Education Specialist, UNICEF, Aiah Mbayo, said many girls stay at home from schools rather than dealing with all this potential embarrassment and shame. She informed that girls lose weeks of the school year simply because they don’t have a reliable way to manage their period.
Aiah Mbayo stated that the good news is that Girl Child Network organisations and UNICEF are partnering to educate community schools to put a stop to the myth. According to her, they are educating women and girls the truth about menstruation and sexual health.
He said women and girls are given practical advice and are also providing access to sanitary pads by Girl Child Network (GCN).
According to Aiah Mbayo, they are not only educating girls, they also make reusable sanitary pads, which they distribute to the girls who attend their training workshops.
A JSS III student of Services Secondary School, Aminata Kamara, expressed thanks and appreciation to the Girl Child Network and UNICEF for the donation of menstrual kits. She said the training was very important as many of them do not have knowledge of menstrual period. She stated that the training was an opportunity for them, as students in fishing communities, to acquire knowledge on menstrual hygiene management.
She revealed that they have no more fear in serving as ambassadors to their parents and colleague students; and vowed to replicate what they have learnt from the training.
Manteneh Jibateh, a JSS 11 student of Services Secondary School, also expressed thanks to Girl Child Network for the distribution of pads and for impacting knowledge on them on Menstrual Hygiene Management.
She described the donation and the recent training as timely, because many of their colleagues find it difficult to stay in schools during menstruation period.
She expressed gratitude to Girl Child Network and UNICEF for the donation of pads as it was geared towards good health and promotion of girl child education in Sierra Leone.