By Florence Afriyie Mensah, GNA
Obuasi (Ash), May 27, GNA – Mrs Louisa Amoah, Executive Director of Girls Shall Grow, Obuasi-based NGO, has stressed the need to demystify the issue of menstruation and make it an open subject for people to discuss.
She said it was time all the mysteries surrounding menstruation were brought to the fore to enable young girls to have better understanding and confidence of themselves during that period of natural phenomenon.
“We realize that there is a whole hostile environment making it very difficult for girls to freely talk about menstruation and their experiences, so we are seizing opportunities like this to sensitize the girls to freely speak out whiles advising the public to make it easier for issues of menstruation to be discussed”, she told journalists in Obuasi, on the sidelines of a symposium to mark world menstrual day.
It was organized by Girls Shall Grow in collaboration with the SRC Women Commission of the Obuasi campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The symposium, which was under the theme “together for a period friendly world”, brought together about 300 students from KNUST- Obuasi campus, Junior High and Senior High schools in Obuasi, as well as health personnel to share their opinions on how to maintain menstrual hygiene.
Mrs Amoah bemoaned the level of stigmatization and misconceptions associated with menstruation and said her organizations was at the forefront of campaigns to sensitize young girls on the need to maintain personal hygiene and correct certain misconceptions about menstruation.
She said menstruation was a natural process experienced by all adolescent girls, hence, should not be treated as a taboo.
She encouraged the girls to be confident and speak out against all forms of maltreatment encountered during menstruation.
Menstrual health is a fundamental aspect of human rights, dignity, and public health.
Menstrual Hygiene Day, observed annually on May 28th, is dedicated to breaking taboos and raising awareness about the importance of good menstrual hygiene management
Dr. Enyonam Kwawukume, Obuasi East District Director of Health Services, who was the resource person on the day, took participants through the four phases of the menstrual cycle.
These, she said included menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase.
She said common problems encountered by women during menstruation were heavy or painful periods and premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
She advised the girls to be careful during menstrual cycle since the chances to get pregnant always increased at this stage.
Ms Claudia Owusu Amoh, Women’s Commissioner of KNUST-Obuasi campus said the need for girls to maintain good hygiene during menstruation was what necessitated their collaboration with Girls Shall Grow for the program.
She however, appealed to the government to intervene by making sanitary pads accessible to girls in school.
“Now the cost factor in getting sanitary pads has become a challenge for parents.
Whiles government looks at bringing the cost down, I am suggesting that government can give out free sanitary pads to schoolgirls just as we do for books and uniforms”.
A pupil from the Boete L/ A JHS ‘B’, Miss Etilda Banoba, recounted the ordeal her mum goes through periodically to get sanitary pads for her.
She said the cost of sanitary pads made it difficult for her to maintain proper hygiene during that month.
“It hasn’t been easy since I started menstruating.
The price of the pads is very high so getting sanitary pads and food at the same time is difficult for my mother to get.
This is really a challenge for most of us”.
She appealed to the government and other benevolent institutions to volunteer sanitary pads for girls, especially those in schools.
This, she said, could help prevent frequent absenteeism in schools.
GNA