Menstrual Hygiene Day 2023: WaterAid trains school boys, girls and teachers across 39 schools in Lagos
Menstruation is an important and normal part of a woman’s life from puberty until menopause. For many girls, the onset of menstruation marks a time of biological development that immediately comes with restrictions, rules, confinement and changed expectations in many cultures. Thus, good menstrual hygiene and health management (MHHM) has to be more than just facilities for washing and disposal of menstrual materials and products.
It is in light of the above that WaterAid in collaboration with Lagos State Government and with funding from Kimberly-Clark Corporation trained teachers and girls on MHHM in the build-up to Menstrual Hygiene Day 2023, which happens yearly on May 28. The training took place in the week of May 15, in Ikorodu North and Ojodu Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of Lagos State.
WaterAid trained 80 teachers across 39 schools in the two LCDAs on MHHM, including a menstrual lab exhibition and how to make reusable pads. Practical training sessions for students were held in six schools reaching a total of 180 students (90 boys and 90 girls), including young persons with disabilities.
According to the Project Manager, Nanbam Michael, the training sessions incorporated an equal number of school boys and girls for the following reasons:
- Menstruation comes with some form of discomfort, and fear especially for girls in primary and secondary schools, one of the fears for the girls is that the boys would make fun of them, laugh and call them names. To address this, training the boys as well on MHHM will help them to understand what menstruation is, promote empathy and reduce stigma and shameful attitudes towards menstruation
- The knowledge the boys have acquired on MHHM will encourage supportive behaviours towards their female peers, friends and family members when they are on their periods. They will better understand the discomfort and mood changes that come with experiencing menstruation.
- The girls will feel comfortable to be in school during their menstrual days knowing that the boys understand that menstruation is not a reason to discriminate against them but is a natural bodily process that happens to about half the world’s population.
- The training will promote gender equality, breaking societal norms that hinder access to education during periods. The boys will have life skills on MHHM and will be advocates for menstrual equity. They will also learn to support their spouses and daughters in menstrual health management in the future.
The students were happy to learn about the female body and the several options they have to manage menstruation in a hygienic way. Watch the video below, where they speak about what they learnt.
Through the Kimberly-Clark funded Sanitation and Hygiene Improvement Project (SHIP) in Lagos, WaterAid hopes to reach 5,000 secondary school girls with rehabilitated sanitation facilities, hygiene kits, hygiene promotion and menstrual hygiene education.
The teachers trained across 39 schools, will be expected to step down the training in their respective schools to reach more students. Watch the teachers’ share their learnings from the training below:
About Menstrual Hygiene Day: Each year, May 28 is a day dedicated to breaking the silence and raising awareness about the fundamental role that good menstrual hygiene management plays in enabling women and girls to reach their full potential. For 2023, the official Menstrual Hygiene Day theme is #WeAreCommitted. WaterAid is fully committed to advocating for greater investment in menstrual health and ending period poverty.