Can faith leaders destigmatize menstrual health?

Despite there being 1.8 billion people in the world who menstruate each month, individuals are still stigmatized for what is a normal bodily function. Unexpected allies can, however, be found among the faith community, say sector professionals.

According to research, 500 million women, girls, and people who menstruate don’t have the access to WASH facilities, information, and sanitary products they need to manage their menstrual cycles. The pandemic has only served to heighten levels of period poverty and stigma around the topic doesn’t help.

“It’s almost impossible to go and talk about such a sensitive topic without actually having some kind of engagement with some influencers,” said Tanya Mahajan, director of international programs at The Pad Project, a nonprofit working to end period stigma.

The first influencer might be a community health worker or a teacher who has closer contact with adolescent girls and women, but faith leaders come into play when you want to talk to men and engage the larger community, Mahajan said.

Ensuring all members of a community — including boys and men — are aware of menstrual hygiene is important as it feeds into the provision of an enabling environment, Silvia Devina, WASH and early childhood development adviser at Plan International Indonesia.

For example, it may influence the construction of bathrooms and the provision of common dustbins for disposal of pads. It could influence a person’s ability to go to school and work during their period. If menstrual health and hygiene needs go unmet, according to UNICEF, there are knock-on effects for school attendance, economic gains, safety, and mental health.

The origins of menstrual stigma

A lot of menstrual stigma revolves around religious practices, Mahajan said, which is why it’s important to engage faith leaders in trying to dispel it. People who menstruate are often not allowed to touch religious scriptures or visit a place of worship if they’re menstruating, she explained.

In India, many believe menstruation to be “dirty” and “impure” because of a story written in ancient religious texts. In it, menstruation symbolizes the guilt women were forced to take on following the killing a Vedic demon. As a result, women of the Hindu faith are often told they can’t participate in day-to-day life until they’re considered “purified” again. In Suriname, some believe menstrual blood exposes the individual to black magic, and in Pakistan, some beliefs even go as far as restricting the drinking of cold water.

“But it [menstruation] is a normal thing and we need to embrace what is happening,” said Maitabel Okumu, Africa regional program officer of sanitation and hygiene at Living Water International.

The U.N. Human Rights Council’s resolution on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation has called for stigma to be addressed through increased information and addressing negative social norms, as well as access to hygienic products and gender-sensitive facilities.

Breaking down the misconceptions

In Indonesia, Devina explained that Plan International works with imams to develop books that explain what the Quran actually says in regards to menstruation to debunk certain myths among Muslim communities. These include the idea that hair and fingernails can’t be cut during the menstruation period. Such beliefs, she said, have an impact on women’s hygiene and well-being.

“The religious guidelines only tell you to wash your hair and body after you’ve finished menstruation so that you can perform your prayers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t cut your hair and fingernails,” Devina said, explaining the messaging they include in the books.

In Uganda, LWI trains church leaders in menstrual health management and uses relevant passages from the bible to promote menstrual hygiene and to demystify myths among their communities. Any activity done through the church, Okumu said, ensures the community will embrace it positively. “It’s written in the bible … and we don’t need to stigmatize somebody for natural things happening,” she added.

In some cases, church mobilization groups have gone on to form community-based organizations focused on producing reusable pads that can be sold at a subsidized rate. As a result, girls, women, and young boys are able to talk about periods openly, Maitabel said. “They’ve been trained and sensitized through our CMGs,” she said.

In India, Mahajan explained that faith leaders have been able to help in the push for improved sanitation, explaining how having a toilet is beneficial to women in the households. Work around menstrual hygiene management could be an extension of that.

How to engage leaders

While combining forces with religous leaders and groups can seem like a great step in tackling the discrimination and the subsequent challenges people who menstruate face, all interviewees advised taking the time to get to know the leaders you want to partner with.

You have to develop relationships and get to know them before asking them to be involved in an NGO’s activities and correcting misconceptions on this topic, Devina said.

It’s also unlikely, Mahajan said, that faith leaders would explicitly dispel such beliefs and so more realistic ways of engagement should be thought of.

“They would not normally be OK with saying outright that a menstruating girl or women can go and participate in the ceremony,” she said. Instead, make smaller asks first, she said, such as the facilitation of access to older men in the community in order to discuss less sensitive issues like menstrual waste disposal.

Devex, with support from our partner GHR Foundation, is exploring the intersection between faith and development. Visit the Focus on: Faith and Development page for more. Disclaimer: The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of GHR Foundation.