In Niger, only 30% of girls have heard about menstruation before their first period according to a UNICEF-supported research
By Islamane Abdou and Salamatou Himou
Every girl has the right to accurate information about her body. In Niger, gender inequality, discriminatory social norms, cultural taboos, poverty and lack of basic services often cause girls’ and women’s menstrual health and hygiene needs to go unmet.
UNICEF Niger, with the generous support of Canada and Norway, produced a creative video shows the stigma that girls face in Niger to talk about menstruation and the numerous rumors about menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) that tend to stigmatize women and girls.
As in many other countries within the region, there is a long tradition of viewing menstruation as 'impure'. The story talks about a girl who has suffered from discrimination at her school, the hazards she went through and the reality behind these situations.
In the villages across Niger there is the conception that if a menstruating woman touches sowing seeds, the harvest will not be abundant; that a woman must not braid her sister's hair during menstruation, otherwise she will induce hair loss; that menstruation is a woman’s business and that a man must not talk about it — these are just some of the numerous rumors about menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) that tend to stigmatize women and girls.