So, last week I was out shopping for some refreshing beverages
and my favourite Dr Brown’s sanitary pads. Whilst waiting in a queue to pay, this
good looking guy walks in. He must have been in his early 20’s, he certainly had
the swag and the energy of a man in that age bracket. As I continued to watch
this young man he heads towards the ladies section and picks up some Dr Brown’s sanitary pads … well, personally this wasn’t really that strange to me since I
felt he must be shopping for someone else. Anyway, as I was waiting for my
change I noticed some ladies giggling in the corner. They could have been
giggling about something else, right? I wanted to believe that they weren’t
giggling about, you know who…
So, here’s me still waiting for my change from the ever so sluggish
cashier and guess who walks out, but the young man in question, having already paid.
Well, the moment he steps out of the shop it was as if someone released laughing
gas. The laughter went viral coupled with endless giggling and so forth. This really got me
wondering why people thought him funny or weird. Does a man need to menstruate
to be allowed to purchase a sanitary pad? What about women who purchase condoms?
That was not even the funniest part of the story, this is it …
a girl just has to be a girl and I wanted to know where this young man was taking
the Dr Brown’s sanitary pad. To my total amazement the answer unfolded right
then before my eyes. There was a girl just across the road waiting for him and
once he handed the sanitary pad to her, they walked off together. As peculiar
as it may sound, I also came across the same guy later that day in another
store. You know my friends always tell
me I’m fearless and I guess in this instance I was because with a twinkle in my
eye I couldn’t resist going up to him and saying, “Hey, I’m also a big fan of
Dr.Brown’s.” He laughed heartily and said, “Nooo, they were for my teenage
cousin. She is just like many other girls; ashamed of purchasing sanitary pads
in a crowded store.” Well, blow me down with a feather. I was shocked.
I once asked a girl, “If you were asked to purchase either a
pack of sanitary pads or a pack of condoms, which would you go for?” She told
me blatantly she would go for neither. “WHAT?” If most girls think this way, then how
do they get by? What do they use? My mind ran wild at the notion.
Upon investigation, I discovered that in Africa about one in every 10 adolescent girls miss school during their periods and that some even eventually drop out
of school because of menstruation related issues (UNESCO 2013). Once I read this,
I knew then that what we have at hand is quite a situation. Further, about 65%
of women in Nigeria alone are still making use of cotton wool, rags and tissue
paper during their periods. This is quite shocking. Not only because of the lack
of education or the rate at which these women expose themselves to the dangers
of infections, but because of the fact that sanitary pads are so freely
available. And yet, so many other educated girls and women want to shy away
from the task of going to a shop to purchase a sanitary pad for themselves.
I often ask myself why some of us girls behave this way since
nowadays guys walk freely into pharmacies to ask for condoms, even females. So why
can’t we do the same for sanitary pads? It is a fact that during the course of
their lives every female, having reached a certain maturity, menstruates. A
female is expected to menstruate every month unless she is either pregnant, reached
menopause or she’s making use of a certain family planning method. So why then can
we not embrace this and take proper care of ourselves independently?
I feel it is time to educate our fellow sisters that they
should be proud of their bodies and their feminine nature. Help us teach the
youth of today that menstruation and femininity is not a curse, let us guide
them as to how they can love and take pride in the glory of their true being. Our
brothers too must also help out in any way they can, male figures massively
influence impressionable teenagers. Together lets build a better, healthier
society.
As Judith Butler an American female philosopher and gender
theorist puts it:
Copyright
©2015 Wemy Industries Limited.
