As a predominantly healthy biological phenomenon and the most universal and peculiarly womanly experience, menstruation should not be a barrier to education or hinder a girl’s ability to participate fully in daily life. Yet for millions of women and girls in Nigeria, it does. In fact, every month, thousands of adolescent girls and women in the world struggle to cope with their monthly periods. This is because many of these girls cannot afford or access appropriate menstrual products and depend on crude, improvised materials for managing their menstruation, such as bits of old clothing, foam mattress, toilet paper, leaves, and banana fibers. These improvisations are ineffective and uncomfortable.
For many girls, the first experience of menstruation is associated not with knowledge and understanding of the normal biological process but with confusion, shame, and a poor quality of information on how to deal with it. Even today, the menstrual process is heavily stigmatised in Nigeria, preventing girls from engaging in regular activities. A lack of decent sanitation and menstrual hygiene facilities in schools creates barriers to attendance even for girls who can afford supplies at home. Every girl deserves the opportunity to pursue her education and develop to her full potential without the restrictions that her biological cycle imposes.
With a combination of frequent, embarrassing leaks, a susceptibility to recurrent infections, the stigma surrounding menstruation, and the lack of proper information and sanitary materials available, millions of girls and women experience their monthly period as something that prevents them from engaging in daily life, often compelling girls to miss school or discontinue their studies entirely. In a nation where education is broadly accepted as a form of empowerment and socioeconomic growth, the implications of menstrual inequity are particularly insidious.
The bottom line is this: menstruation should be a normal fact of life, not an ailment that steals girls’ futures. However, ensuring menstrual equity for the emerging generation of Nigerian girls and women is more than just a question of rights; rather, it is one of the most dynamic investments Nigeria can create in its development, economics, and human capital. But perhaps the most essential component is that the hideous ripple effects of period poverty on girls’ education amplify gender inequalities and inequities across all spheres.
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In January 2020, the Nigerian government took a significant step toward achieving menstrual equity. Sanitary towels, pads, and tampons were exempted from the value-added tax as part of the new Finance Bill signed by then-President Muhammadu Buhari. According to the statement of the Office of the Vice President, the Nigerian government said, “In a bid to ensure that the cost of living does not rise for Nigerians because of the changes in the Value-Added Tax, several basic food items, locally manufactured sanitary towels, pads have been added to the exemption list.”
This act on the part of the government aimed at relieving financial burdens on women and girls, especially those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, was an acknowledgment of the natural entitlement to manage periods in decency. Girls and women have a human right to menstrual dignity, and no government should be able to tax our periods by making feminine hygiene products a luxury. For too long, the combined costs of sanitary products and taxes have placed an unfair financial burden on Nigerian girls and women simply for being female.
While the introduction of lower prices for sanitary products is commendable, the harsh reality persists: far too many girls are still unable to access basic menstrual hygiene products due to the financial constraints it imposes. UNICEF estimates that one in ten girls in sub-Saharan Africa misses school during her period; at the same time, as much as 20 per cent of the school year is missed as a direct result of menstrual poverty. The 2013 National Demography and Health Survey data (NDHS) says about 60 per cent of the 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria dropped out due to period poverty. When adolescent girls are forced to miss weeks of school each year simply for experiencing their periods, their academic performance deteriorates, their economic prospects become bleak, and the resulting ripples can throw their whole future trajectories off course.
The World Bank’s report “A Better Future for All Nigerians: Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2022” estimates that nearly two out of five citizens live below 1.90 U.S. dollars per day as a national poverty line. In contrast, 2019 data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that 40 per cent of the population in Nigeria—almost 83 million people—lives below the national consumption poverty line, which is N137,430 ($134.73) per annum. With an average pad price of N550 and the current economic crisis, which has exacerbated the socioeconomic vulnerabilities faced by the poor on all fronts, including the menstrual hygiene crisis, this crisis has never been more pressing.
Studies have shown a correlation between infant mortality and maternal education in developing countries. A 2013 study found that an increase in maternal education could reduce infant mortality rate by 51.2 per cent. According to UNICEF, children of uneducated mothers are 2.8 times more likely to die before the age of 5 compared to those whose mothers have a secondary education. Another 2019 study in India revealed that infant mortality was 51 per cent higher among children of uneducated mothers. Meanwhile, the 2018 NDHS showed that infant mortality is at 67 deaths per 1000 for mothers with no education, compared to 36 deaths per 1000 for mothers with secondary or higher school education.
This overwhelming evidence indicates that increasing access to education for girls is an effective way of saving the lives of infants in developing countries. An educated mother is less likely to have high-risk pregnancies, more likely to practice essential newborn care, and better prepared to make informed choices about her sexual and reproductive health. If we help our girls and women manage their menstruation easily while keeping them in school, we empower them to become society’s driving forces of change. Quite simply, educated women raise healthier societies.
Many individuals and organisations have undertaken various initiatives to tackle this problem. In 2018, UNICEF, with financial assistance from Canada, trained 40 girls from four senior high schools in Osun State on the production of reusable sanitary pads. There are organisations such as the Pad-Up Foundation and Pad A Girl Foundation. Yet much more funding and nationwide scale are needed to deliver menstrual equity as a norm, not an exception, across the country.
Although the VAT exemption was a step forward, it’s time to redouble our efforts on guaranteeing menstrual dignity to all women and girls. As things stand, there are still systemic barriers preventing the country’s poorest menstruating populations from achieving it. Experience in other countries has shown that free provision of sanitary pads and tampons in schools, alongside menstrual health education, can be both revolutionary against period poverty and keep a whole lot more girls at school. Subsidizing local production of low-cost, reusable sanitary pads can make them more affordable and sustainable while also giving women entrepreneurs an economic opportunity to create some wealth.
With tight budgets and a lot of development needs, some people may question if sanitary products deserve our top priority, and critics may even argue that handouts create dependence. It is imperative to realise that menstrual equity is not only a woman’s issue; it is a social matter that demands urgent attention. Every girl has the right to study and the ability to achieve her potential, free from the restrictions imposed by her biology. Therefore, it should be viewed as a right of humanity, not charity. It is an investment in human capital that will appreciate, producing generations of healthier, better educated, and more economically productive Nigerian women.
Half the earth’s population is born with this biological characteristic. By treating period poverty as equally important to public health as other key social determinants, Nigerian leaders will be striking a powerful chord for gender equity. With affordable sanitary protection and education, Nigerian girls will no longer have their dreams and futures derailed each month by something as fundamental as their own biology. The future productivity, wealth, and empowerment of Nigerian girls and women merit such an investment.
Halima Sanda wrote from Kano
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