These are no tell-tales. These are real stories of girls and women exposed to sexual abuse and exploitation due to what has become known as 'period poverty' in parts of Africa.
Afia’s
mother got sick when she was 12 years old. She had to move in to live with her
aunty at Techiman in the Bono East region of Ghana where she was enrolled in a
school.
It
was at the school she first had her menses, something she lacked knowledge
about. She soiled her uniform and boys in her class made fun of her.
When
Afia got home and informed her aunty of her experience, she was emotionally
abused and received no support; neither education on her menstrual cycle nor
access to sanitary pad.
She
resorted to using toilet roll and went back to school after two weeks.
During
her second menstruation, she soiled her dress again. This time, a man in his
30s saw her in her state of distress and invited her home to wash down.
“I
saw him as a father figure in the community and saw no harm in following him,” said
Afia.
The
man assured her of his support to provide her with sanitary pads every month,
in addition to a daily stipend of Gh1.50. But this was a bait.
Afia
needed to become his girlfriend as a condition for the provision of sanitary
pads when it’s that time of the month.
“At
that time I was very young and didn’t know anything,” she said. “He told me he
likes me and will be buying me more pads and he will be giving me money to
school and would increase the money to 3 cedis if I become his girlfriend,” she
narrated.
Defiled and
shattered
Afia
agreed to the man’s proposal to come out of the shame she had to endure anytime
she was in her menses.
She
was defiled and later got pregnant at age 14. During antenatal, she was tested
HIV positive.
Her
aunty was least interested in her affairs. The man denied any responsibility
when Afia’s mother confronted him.
“At
that time I ignored my mum. I told her it’s her fault. Why did she get sick for
me to go there for something like this to happen to me?” a teary Afia retorted.
This
drove her to almost commit suicide.
“In
my mind I said I was not going to take the [anti-retroviral] drugs. I will just
wait for death to come and take me,” she said. “I only took the medicine so I
will give birth for the baby to be healthy, but in my 9th month when I
went to the hospital I was told I lost the baby in my womb”.
Unfortunately,
such cases of abuse and defilement are not reported for appropriate redress.
Afia,
now 19years, could not further her education after completing junior high
school.
She
believes she would not have fallen prey and suffered such an ordeal if she
could access a sanitary pad at her tender age.
“I
had a dream to achieve; I wanted to become a journalist and an author of books.
If I had the opportunity to be in school, my life would be far better than it
is today,” she sobbed.
Hazardous menstrual
care
There
are tales of girls folding newspapers to absorb blood during menstruation. Some
tear their exercise books for the purpose and others use polythene bags.
In
other instances, girls use their socks, polythene bags, leaves and paracetamol
to control their menstrual flow.
These
are some of the untold stories of girls who cannot access sanitary pads.
“These
girls are from poor homes and so cannot afford the cost of sanitary pads. This
is why we ask the government to subsidize the price of sanitary pads,” said
Josephine Kwarteng, Girls Coordinator at the Ghana Education Service in the
Amansie Central District.
May
28 is World Menstrual Hygiene Day, commemorated with the objective of combating
period poverty – a state of girls’ inability to afford sanitary pads at that
time of the month.
Individuals,
groups and institutions are encouraged to spearhead the free distribution of
sanitary pads to girls in deprived communities.
The
compassionate exercise is to help end period poverty and its associated
challenges of infections, reduced school hours, stigma and abuse of dignity.
By
Kofi Adu Domfeh
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