1st December 2023
Yakalla, Ibbagamuwa
Earlier this week, the Minister of Education, Susil Premajayantha stated that the government will provide free disposable sanitary napkins to female students of menstruating age, beginning in 2024.
“Sanitary napkins will be given to 300,000 girls as a pilot project. Around one million girl children will be given sanitary napkins later,”
This pilot project is apparently a corporate social responsibility [CSR] initiative, suggesting that most probably a local company that produces disposable sanitary napkins will be involved.
This is not the first time the government has claimed a CSR initiative will be put in place to provide free sanitary napkins. In 2021, a similar initiative had to be abandoned due to the then company unable to bear the rising costs.
COVID 19, rising costs, and the resulting economic downturn was blamed for the failure.
It is unclear if the 2024 CSR initiative is by the same company that partnered with the government in 2021.
It is also unclear if the government has adequately studied the requirement this time around in order to overcome the obstacles of the previous effort.
Simply put, on average a menstruating female student would require a minimum of 15 pads per cycle per month. This involves a change of sanitary napkins a minimum of three times depending on menstrual flow for 5 days. The quality of the pad – how absorbent and how comfortable – is another factor that comes into play when determining how many will be used.
At the current retail rate of a locally produced popular brand this would cost per student per month LKR 540/- and per year LKR 6480/-
Ostensibly, even if the company’s CSR initiative has consciously abandoned any hope of profit, the cost of providing sanitary napkins for a million menstruating students annually will remain significant.
Sustainability – go beyond the buzz word
Long-term sustainability of such initiatives is not just dependent on economic factors. There is an environmental cost that needs to be similarly considered.
A research paper published in 2022 by the Department of Sports Science, University of Sri Jayewardenepura titled Examination of Menstrual Waste Disposal Techniques used by the Millennials in Sri Lanka had the following finding.
“Of the 150 respondents, 52% use burning (open), 18% throw-in routine waste bins, 8.7% throw with proper grading and 8% use toilet pits to dispose of their menstrual waste. The remaining respondents used incinerators, washing or dumped/burned waste in open areas such as land, rivers etc”
The reality is that disposable sanitary napkins or pads are just not that disposable.
Environmentally friendly options, such as the bio-degradable FDA approved Lily sanitary napkin are available in the market, but currently do not have the capacity to scale up to provide for national consumption.
Reusable cloth sanitary napkins are also entering into the market, as are reusable period cups. The benefits of both these options require more public discourse.
The Grassrooted Trust working with women and menstruating girls as part of their Mindful Menstruation intervention in Ibbagamuwa provide some insight.
“The Mindful Menstruation intervention grew out of our response to the realities of period poverty in the communities we serve. In 2021, Grassrooted in consultation with local government administrative officers, including the Grama Niladhari network, began distribution of disposable sanitary napkins during the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, and continued this support during the economic crisis of 2022 on the understanding that women were struggling with the price hike of disposable sanitary napkins, and also prioritizing this period product was difficult during such a period of economic hardship with dramatically escalating food and utility costs.
Feedback following the initial 2021 distribution indicated that several women and girls did not know to how to use disposable sanitary napkins. This included students who avoided going to school on days they were menstruating, and women who were too embarrassed to purchase disposable sanitary napkins publicly due to the perceived shame associated with menstruation.
Feedback also indicated that women and girls in the area used cloth strips to manage the flow of menstrual blood. These cloth strips were either disposed of [burnt/buried] or reused after washing. The practice of reusing cloth strips was often done clandestinely with improper drying practices that had the potential to lead to urinary tract infections and reproductive tract infections. For example, it is essential that reusable period cloths are sun dried, yet due to the shame associated with this biological function of the female body, reusable cloth strips were dried under mattresses, or in cupboards, and often reused while still damp which would allow for harmful bacteria to build.
This led to Grassrooted working with women and girls to identify best approaches to reusable cloth sanitary napkins. This included working with community members to develop their own reusable cloth sanitary napkin, which involves understanding body shape, menstrual blood flow, potential infections and allergies, and above all comfort and utility. This helps determine size, length, and texture of the material and fabric used to develop the reusable cloth sanitary napkin, and also the best practices in washing, drying [direct sunlight] and stowing of the device. These fact-based discussions also help women and girls of menstruating age understand the biology of menstruation and provided them with the confidence to discuss their menstruation more openly. In July 2023 we began the research and development phase for a reusable homemade cloth napkin. Those working on this product include women from our communities, some of whom will be on the team that tests the product. The model being developed is to ensure that women and girls in Ibbagamuwa will be self-sufficient in the production of their own sanitary napkins.
The discussion on reusable cloth sanitary napkins led to reflection on the methods of disposing commercially produced disposable sanitary napkins which are not biodegradable. For example, the burning of inorganic material at low temperature releases dioxins which are toxic and carcinogenic in nature. This led to Grassrooted introducing in January 2023 the bio-degradable FDA approved Lily sanitary napkin to the women and girls we serve, as another viable option.
The Mindful Menstruation approach is based on the fundamentals of human biology and human anatomy. The introduction of the reusable period cup as a long-term cost effective and environmentally friendly option involved discussions on the social construct of virginity and the varying anatomies of the hymen – another opportunity for learning and demystifying the female body. There are currently women in the communities we work with who are trialing the use of the period cup, and this device is now being commercially produced in Sri Lanka and therefore more accessible and will hopefully be less associated with those who are more affluent.” – An excerpt from Grassrooted’s upcoming report on period poverty in Ibbagamuwa Darkrooms & Evil Spirits: Prevailing Menstrual Myths in 2023
The government must reimagine their approach to period poverty. The intended distribution of disposable sanitary napkins is welcome. It is a step in the direction of human dignity. It will help female students have an uninterrupted learning experience within the school system.
That said, the President is currently at COPE 28 in Dubai. The environment appears high on this government’s agenda. Surely then, our education system must similarly rise to the challenge and include, for example, a lesson on human anatomy focusing on the varied manifestations of hymen tissue, underpinning that the use of period cups in no way impact the social construct of virginity.
Unless we make it okay for women and girls to wash and dry their reusable cloth sanitary napkins in direct sunlight, without shame, understanding that menstruation is nothing more than a human biological process, we will continue to fail our children. We will fail to respond to the science. Let’s begin by teaching them what already exists in our national syllabus. Science over myth.
“Although the menstruation period is considered unclean (kili) it is one’s own blood that passes out of the body. The difference with the blood that seeps from a wound and menstruation is that it has mucus and some tissues of the uterus lining passing with it.” Grade 7 Health and Physical Education Textbook [2016 Review]