In her bid to promote menstrual hygiene on the World Menstrual Hygiene Day, a non-governmental organization, Girls To Women With Ease Foundation (G2W²E) has taken her campaign major markets in Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo, to sensitize members of the public against the use of rags, tissue papers, newspapers and other unhealthy materials for menstruation.
The organization, led by its team leader, Dr Funmi Adegbile inaugurated this at different markets in Ibadan where the theme “End Of Rags For Menstruation” was introduced to market traders, orientating them on the health implications that comes with using unhealthy materials for menstruation.
Major markets visited were Aleshinloye Market, Mokola market, Bodija Market, and Dugbe market respectively.
While addressing the reason behind the campaign, Dr Funmi Adegbile, said 28th May every year is World Menstrual Hygiene Day, hence, G2W²E, an organization that focuses on Girls Menstrual health decides to use this day to sensitize members of the community against the use of rags for Menstruation.
She said: “It’s alarming that girls don’t see use of rags as a shameful thing, as they have not even seen it before. For instance, in a school of 300 of girls within menstruation age, you find out that 64 girls are still using rags in school, and this is quite harmful as they are prone to infection. Hence, it can hinder them from able to conceive in the future. So we are here to educate the parent of these girls against the use of rags”
While responding to the sensitization, one of the traders at Aleshinloye Market, Mrs Alima Adekunle expressed her indebt gratitude to the organization, stressing that they will inform their girls not to make use of rags but inculcate the habit of using Sanitary pads.
Another trader at Mokola market, Ayo Olomola, appreciated the effort of G2W²G in reaching out the ignorant community in ensuring that they are not infected.
Also at Dugbe, a trader with name undisclosed lamented her inability to be able to afford the sanitary pad which made her to use rags. She, therefore, appealed to the government to help subside the Sanitary pad money.
Also at Bodija Market, Alima Ayoola, a trader also eulogized the organization for this kind gesture of theirs. She also appealed to other organizations to do something like this.
Other activities performed at the market include sharing of not less than 600 sanitary pads to the indigent traders, door to door campaigns encouraging them on changing of their sanitary napkins regularly, washing themselves after removing the napkins, not using soaps in cleaning their vagina and using quality sanitary napkins.
