Promoting menstrual hygiene through the power of radio
It’s a familiar scene to households around the world; Solonge, her mother and siblings are gathered in their house, listening intently to a radio in the middle of the room. Even the youngest, six year-old Danny, is engrossed in the sounds drifting from the little black box. They're listening to a drama broadcast by a local radio station from their village in Rwanda.
But this radio drama is a little different to those you hear on BBC Radio 4. This play is helping to spread important messages about good hygiene, especially for girls and women on their periods. And Solonge is one of the stars! She’s part of a group that performs regular radio plays on Radio Ishingiro – Rwanda’s largest community radio station that reaches over four million people (that’s a third of the population).
One in four Rwandans can’t read
And many don’t own a television, so radio is an incredibly important way to spread news and information.
In many countries we work in, periods are steeped in stigma and not talked about, meaning women’s needs are often overlooked and menstrual health isn’t prioritised. Lots of girls grow up not knowing how to manage their periods properly, or not knowing what a period is at all.
18% of women and girls in Rwanda miss school or work because they can’t afford period products.
18% of women and girls in Rwanda miss school or work because they can’t afford period products.
1 in 4 girls globally don’t have access to a decent toilet to manage their periods.
1 in 4 girls globally don’t have access to a decent toilet to manage their periods.
2 in 5 people in Rwanda don't have access to clean water.
2 in 5 people in Rwanda don't have access to clean water.
Without proper products, a safe place to go the toilet or clean water to wash with, women are being denied dignity and privacy. They're less likely to stay in school or work, limiting their opportunities and ultimately are at a disadvantage at every stage of their lives.
We fund projects like the radio group to help dispel myths about periods, and make sure women and girls’ needs aren’t forgotten about. Clean water and decent toilets, as well as clean period products, are vital for being able to manage your period safely and with dignity.
But in an emergency like the current COVID-19 pandemic, issues like menstrual hygiene fall even lower on governments' priority lists. So projects like this one for Radio Ishingiro, that keep good hygiene and menstrual health in people’s minds, matter more than ever.
Let’s meet some of the actors in the play, and their characters…
Sandrine, playing Agasaro
14 year-old Sandrine plays Agasaro (Pearl) - a school girl from a poor, rural family, who thinks she’s dying when she spots blood on her skirt one day at school. She doesn’t understand what a period is.
“When Agasaro goes home and tells her mother she just gives her some dirty rags to use, which of course means Agasaro smells horrible.
We wanted to show that even if you can't afford sanitary towels, you can use clean cloths. And also how important it is to have a girls' room at school, where they can go if they have a problem or need to change pads.”
Emmanuel, playing Mani
17 year-old Emmanuel plays a school boy called Mani, who teases Agasaro about her period. He’s not very sensitive towards girls and their periods.
“He says hurtful things to Agasaro, like, 'Have you sat in tomatoes?' and 'Has a rat died in here?' I never say things like that, but I see what girls go through when they have their periods.”
Solonge, playing Kanakuze
Solonge is 20 and plays Kanakuze, Agasaro's mother – a farmer with low standards of hygiene. She doesn’t show much care when Agasaro tells her about getting her period.
“I see a lot of women like that in the villages. It's really common around here. I know of one woman who gives her daughter dirty rags when it's her period.”
The groups’ radio plays are hugely popular, and are helping to change people's mindsets towards periods and hygiene.
Martha Uwimana, a school WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) officer for WaterAid in Rwanda agrees, “[Menstruation] is still a taboo subject and parents are too embarrassed to talk about it. Radio has become a particularly powerful tool during lockdown, helping spread vital information and education."
The group can see the positive effects their plays are having in their community:
Solonge's mother Emelthe agrees: "She has been brave enough to talk about hygiene on the radio. It has given her a lot of confidence in herself and she is spreading a positive message at the same time. Solonge has helped me change my habits.”
WaterAid is working across the world to break period taboos and teach women and girls how to manage their periods hygienically and with dignity.
Find out more about why we talk about periods
About the project
The dramas are the result of a partnership between Radio Ishingiro and WaterAid, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery who raise funds for good causes in Britain and beyond by playing. The project runs alongside WaterAid’s water, sanitation and hygiene education programme to bring toilets and good hygiene to schools in some of the most deprived areas of the country.
About the photographs
These portraits were taken in Rwanda by photographer Elena Heatherwick, who teamed up with WaterAid to capture stories of families in Rwanda and Madagascar. More photographs, due to be released in the autumn, will explore lives in both countries, showing the critical role that clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene play in people’s lives – for those both living with and without these basic human rights. The project is sponsored by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
