Breaking a monthly silence in Ethiopia

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/04/2022 (1413 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was an uncomfortable day for Kemeriya Harun.

First, she had her period. Second, she was in rural Ethiopia. Third, she was squatting over a hole in the ground.

Harun said she took her own menstrual products on her trip. But, that day, there was nowhere to throw them out. She rolled up her pad in a plastic bag and put it with her stuff, to dispose of later.

“I have no issue talking about it, but I knew the people I was with would be uncomfortable, so I didn’t want to just say, ‘Hey, what do I do with this?’ So I just kept it to myself,” she said.

The Winnipegger was visiting family in Ethiopia. Now, back home, she’s joined a group to provide menstrual products to Ethiopians.

“I’ve seen the difficulties that I’ve faced, and I can only imagine what they’ve faced,” the dietician-in-training said. “If I can do anything to help on my part, I definitely want to.”

As she spoke, she held a list of pledges. Sisters to Sisters — the group she’s joined — hosted its first fundraising event at the Ethiopian Society of Winnipeg centre on March 27.

Ethiopian-Manitobans formed the organization in October and have recently started collecting money and promoting their cause.

“Our main thing has been trying to rally people, trying to figure out the best means to provide these hygiene products,” Harun said.

The initial goal is to raise $50,000. For $10, one female will get a reusable pad, chemical to clean the pad, two pairs of underwear and a rape whistle, said Ali Saeed, another member of Sisters to Sisters.

The Canadians have partnered with a couple of Ethiopian charities — one being I Care Ethiopia — to provide the packs to women and girls, Saeed said. Manufacturing plants in the African nation will make the goods, he added.

Sisters to Sisters had raised $20,000 by March 28, Saeed said.

“The capital city (Addis Ababa), there are a lot of means, they’re more evolved,” Harun said. “But… there’s a lot of smaller towns where a lot of people don’t have access to (menstrual products).

“It’s not even about the fact that they don’t have money for it… It’s not available. So, it’s trying to find ways to make it available for them.”

Many girls don’t go to school while they are menstruating, attendees of the late March event heard.

About 60 people filed in to hear speeches, eat Ethiopian food and give money. A mix of young and old, male and female, and different ethnicities took part. Some watched via video call from Brandon.

“(Girls) are sitting at home,” said Bosoma Teshome, Sisters to Sisters’ president. “They are not going to school. They are not going to work.”

Some sit on a toilet all day, attendees heard. Others who have reusable cloths hang their pads under their beds, to hide the material.

“(It) would be a breeding area for bacteria,” Harun said. “There’s just so much that needs to be worked on.”

Sisters to Sisters wants to break the stigma associated with menstruation in Ethiopia.

“Even if we support this, if we provide (menstrual products), unless we are educating the next generation about the menstrual situation and hygiene, we’re not working,” Saeed said.

Schools don’t teach about periods; often, girls believe they’re dying when they first experience the bleeding, attendees heard.

The Manitoba group aims to work with its partners to make menstruation a topic in Ethiopian classrooms, Saeed said. It’s important both boys and girls understand, he added.

I Care Ethiopia supports education and sanitation services already — they have boots on the ground, Saeed said.

Sisters to Sisters is contacting other Canadian Ethiopian societies in hopes they’ll start similar initiatives, Harun said. Eventually, the group would like to provide products to other countries, such as Malaysia, and expand its services, including sending pain killers.

Siham Khalil, who is studying medicineat the University of Manitoba, has jumped on board to help Sisters to Sisters.

“It really hurts you inside,” Khalil, who’s from Dubai, said. “Any of the possible things you can do to help them, to educate them… this is the main thing.”

About 75 per cent of Ethiopian women and girls don’t have access to proper menstruation supplies, according to the Nobel Peace Centre. Its website says nearly half of girls in some rural areas skip school while menstruating.

Twenty-five per cent of Ethiopian girls don’t use any menstrual products while on their period, according to an FSG report sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sixty-seven per cent of girls across Ethiopia reported not learning about menstruation in school, the 2016 report says.

Donations can be sent to Sisters to Sisters at sisterstosisters22@gmail.com via e-transfer.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com