Ethiopia firm takes aim at menstruation taboos
AI generated
ADDIS ABABA –
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firm → take → taboos
In a cramped workshop in the heart of Addis Ababa, seamstresses are busy turning out reusable sanitary pads – a vital resource in Ethiopia, where many girls go without because of the cost and taboos.
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girls → turn → cost
In Ethiopia, a religiously conservative country of 130 million people where around 40% live in poverty, menstruation is still often treated as a subject of shame and disposable sanitary pads are luxury items.
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pads → live → shame
Hanan Ahmed, 41, set up her company, Han’s With Care, in 2021 in the hope of tackling what she calls “menstrual shame and period poverty” – something she experienced when she was younger.
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she → set → what
“I used to be one of those girls who have a very heavy flow.
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who → use → flow
I would end up staining my clothes and the desk I was sitting at.
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I → end → clothes
And because of that, I didn’t come to school for like a week or two, making up excuses,” Hanan said.
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Hanan → come → excuses
After a career in fashion and then aviation, she realised that “some of the period-shaming that happened 20 years ago is still going on now” and decided to leave everything behind to start her own business.
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that → realise → business
Ethiopia imports all its sanitary pads from abroad, making them unaffordable to the poor.
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them → import → poor
A 2017 study by Johns Hopkins University found that just 28% of Ethiopian women reported having everything they need for their periods.
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they → find → periods
The result is that young girls miss school, women lose crucial income and many are forced into dangerous alternatives.
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many → miss → alternatives
In rural areas, they use “bits of mattress or dirty socks”, said Hanan, adding that it causes infections.
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it → use → infections
Her company offers cotton sanitary pads that are washable and reusable for up to two years.
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that → offer → years
In the small workshop in the capital, the dozen workers are tightly focused, the clatter of sewing machines drowning out any conversation.
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clatter → drown → conversation
The company can produce up to 1,000 pads a day.
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company → produce → pads
Rather than distributing them through pharmacies, the firm sells to sponsors such as banks, which then give them out for free across the country.
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which → distribute → country
Tsege Woldu Abate, 30, has worked at the company for five years.
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Abate → work → years
She recalled her first period at age 13, saying: “I didn’t tell my family...
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I → recall → family
I was afraid to speak up.”
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I → speak → ?
Today, she says she is “proud” of her work because “it is very useful for girls”.
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it → say → girls
On a recent morning at the Nigat Kokeb School in Addis Ababa, sanitary pads were distributed to about a dozen young girls.
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pads → distribute → girls
Their teacher, Tigist Shewangizaw, welcomed the company’s awareness-raising efforts and donations, so that “no girl misses school”.
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girl → welcome → school
While Hanan highlights the progress made in the capital, she said the situation remains largely unchanged in rural areas.
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situation → highlight → areas
“In some tribes and religious groups, when a young girl begins her period, she is excluded from the household,” Hanan said.
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Hanan → begin → household
She hopes to get more support from the Ethiopian authorities and see the conversation around menstruation normalised.
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conversation → hop → menstruation
“We’re trying to create that freedom to talk about periods,” she said.
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she → try → periods
“We’re raising our voices, so I believe and I hope that in 10 years’ time, there will be a change in our community.”
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I → raise → community
The Aporia
