When people went around the room discussing their topics, this one immediately grabbed my attention. I am extremely passionate about empowerment and self-betterment, especially among women. I think it is so unfortunate that women living in these areas are made to feel that having a period, which is a natural rite of passage for women, is a shameful event. They are unable to go to school when they have their period and since most schools are so far away, they would not be able to appropriately attend to their menstrual needs. I believe in the importance of education to maximize the potential of a society, and if the women are constantly being underserved and unable to complete their education, they will never have an opportunity to be equal with men. I want to teach these women that menstruation is something to be proud of and not to hide.
I became interested in this project for a few different reasons. Having lived and traveled in developing countries, I thought that it was a great opportunity to get help to those who needed it and who don’t live directly in our community. As a woman, I felt that doing a project involving menstrual hygiene to help other women have a better experience also peaked my interest. After doing more research and discovering that girls in Africa are missing school for more than 5-10 days at a time each month, I felt that this was something that I really wanted to be involved in changing. As a teacher I know how much even missing a day of school can affect a child and by missing this much each month these girls don’t have a chance at being successful academically. By working in a group we have the advantage of all coming from different backgrounds and experiences allowing us to put our strengths at work to hopefully help these girls have a better and healthier life.
I first became interested in this project when learning the focus would be on helping young women in Africa. Initial ideas we discussed were how to get sanitary napkins to these women for better feminine hygiene as well as help increase their attendance in school. I learned that young women often miss 5-10 days from school when suffering with their menstrual cycle. Also, perhaps scarier, these young women didn’t’ even have adequate means to deal with natural bodily function. They would often use other alternatives to sanitary napkins to deal with their periods, which in turn would lead to infections and poor hygiene. I instantly became very interested. Also, I was told this would be a larger group. I wanted to work with a group because I believed that would allow us to cover more research and go more in depth in a variety of issues related to feminine hygiene and the larger empowerment of these young ladies. Secondly, the group discussed doing a drive to collect sanitary napkins. I have always wanted to organize and be involved in a ground-level type of advocacy project. I want to get out into the community and rally people to become interested in our cause.
According to the World Health Organization, thousands of women and girls are forced to use unsanitary items during their menstrual cycle. These items include but are not limited to newspapers, old towels, blankets, and tree leafs. As a result many women will develop bacterial infections. In most cases these infections are treatable, but due to the lack of resources many infections will go untreated, and in some cases can be so severe that they are life threatening. This issue is important to me because so many young women and girls are forced to miss school for upwards to tens days because of the embarrassment and teasing they will be forced to endured. My colleagues and I hope the promote gender equality throughout personal empowerment for women, by working with agencies and community leaders to help provide women living in African communities with the feminine hygiene products they need to protect themselves from treatable vaginal infections. Thus giving them the opportunity to attend school and work towards gender equality.
Over the past five years I have become increasingly aware of African politics and social issues / injustices involving many communities on the continent. One of the most vulnerable groups affected by poverty, lack of education and medical resources, and social oppression are young women and girls who must endure ridicule and abuse from their communities because of their sex and the lack of understanding of what it means to be female. Many young girls are kept at home during the days they have their period because it is seen as embarrassing and many families and communities do not have sanitary products for them to use. Our advocacy group is looking to partner with a local agency in Zimbabwe to reach out to young women and girls to provide them with sanitary products so that they are able to stay in school and do not have to use unsanitary materials. Being a women, this project is dear to me. It is hard to imagine not having access to such basic necessities in order to keep oneself healthy. I wanted to work on this topic for our advocacy project because we will be helping to promote girls health both through providing direct material resources and also through an awareness campaign that serves to empower women by educating communities around women’s health issues and importance of keeping girls in education. Health and education are two international fundamental rights that should be available to women and girls of all ages.
Growing up I was acutely aware of the difference in how I was treated as a girl versus how boys were treated, but I didn’t know how to put a name to it or what it meant. Studying under some amazing professors in college pushed my thinking about gender and encouraged me to examine these inequities not just in the US, but how women all over the world face similar challenges. Often times we focused on massive issues of economics, human rights, and health without looking understanding how these macro issues play out on an individual level. When I learned how women and girls in Africa are placed at an additional disadvantage because of obstacles like access to feminine hygiene products, I was blown away. It never once occurred to me that something as fundamental as a maxi pad or a tampon could represent a brighter future for these women. I knew immediately that it was extremely important to get involved in the fight to effect change and improve these unfair conditions.
Erika Shechter ~
ReplyDeleteWhen people went around the room discussing their topics, this one immediately grabbed my attention. I am extremely passionate about empowerment and self-betterment, especially among women. I think it is so unfortunate that women living in these areas are made to feel that having a period, which is a natural rite of passage for women, is a shameful event. They are unable to go to school when they have their period and since most schools are so far away, they would not be able to appropriately attend to their menstrual needs. I believe in the importance of education to maximize the potential of a society, and if the women are constantly being underserved and unable to complete their education, they will never have an opportunity to be equal with men. I want to teach these women that menstruation is something to be proud of and not to hide.
Lindsey Clark ~
ReplyDeleteI became interested in this project for a few different reasons. Having lived and traveled in developing countries, I thought that it was a great opportunity to get help to those who needed it and who don’t live directly in our community. As a woman, I felt that doing a project involving menstrual hygiene to help other women have a better experience also peaked my interest. After doing more research and discovering that girls in Africa are missing school for more than 5-10 days at a time each month, I felt that this was something that I really wanted to be involved in changing. As a teacher I know how much even missing a day of school can affect a child and by missing this much each month these girls don’t have a chance at being successful academically. By working in a group we have the advantage of all coming from different backgrounds and experiences allowing us to put our strengths at work to hopefully help these girls have a better and healthier life.
Jessica Keefe ~
ReplyDeleteI first became interested in this project when learning the focus would be on helping young women in Africa. Initial ideas we discussed were how to get sanitary napkins to these women for better feminine hygiene as well as help increase their attendance in school. I learned that young women often miss 5-10 days from school when suffering with their menstrual cycle. Also, perhaps scarier, these young women didn’t’ even have adequate means to deal with natural bodily function. They would often use other alternatives to sanitary napkins to deal with their periods, which in turn would lead to infections and poor hygiene. I instantly became very interested. Also, I was told this would be a larger group. I wanted to work with a group because I believed that would allow us to cover more research and go more in depth in a variety of issues related to feminine hygiene and the larger empowerment of these young ladies. Secondly, the group discussed doing a drive to collect sanitary napkins. I have always wanted to organize and be involved in a ground-level type of advocacy project. I want to get out into the community and rally people to become interested in our cause.
Gleneara Bates ~
ReplyDeleteAccording to the World Health Organization, thousands of women and girls are forced to use unsanitary items during their menstrual cycle. These items include but are not limited to newspapers, old towels, blankets, and tree leafs. As a result many women will develop bacterial infections. In most cases these infections are treatable, but due to the lack of resources many infections will go untreated, and in some cases can be so severe that they are life threatening. This issue is important to me because so many young women and girls are forced to miss school for upwards to tens days because of the embarrassment and teasing they will be forced to endured. My colleagues and I hope the promote gender equality throughout personal empowerment for women, by working with agencies and community leaders to help provide women living in African communities with the feminine hygiene products they need to protect themselves from treatable vaginal infections. Thus giving them the opportunity to attend school and work towards gender equality.
Shannon Ghramm- Smith ~
ReplyDeleteOver the past five years I have become increasingly aware of African politics and social issues / injustices involving many communities on the continent. One of the most vulnerable groups affected by poverty, lack of education and medical resources, and social oppression are young women and girls who must endure ridicule and abuse from their communities because of their sex and the lack of understanding of what it means to be female. Many young girls are kept at home during the days they have their period because it is seen as embarrassing and many families and communities do not have sanitary products for them to use. Our advocacy group is looking to partner with a local agency in Zimbabwe to reach out to young women and girls to provide them with sanitary products so that they are able to stay in school and do not have to use unsanitary materials. Being a women, this project is dear to me. It is hard to imagine not having access to such basic necessities in order to keep oneself healthy. I wanted to work on this topic for our advocacy project because we will be helping to promote girls health both through providing direct material resources and also through an awareness campaign that serves to empower women by educating communities around women’s health issues and importance of keeping girls in education. Health and education are two international fundamental rights that should be available to women and girls of all ages.
Meredith Carlisle -
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I was acutely aware of the difference in how I was treated as a girl versus how boys were treated, but I didn’t know how to put a name to it or what it meant. Studying under some amazing professors in college pushed my thinking about gender and encouraged me to examine these inequities not just in the US, but how women all over the world face similar challenges. Often times we focused on massive issues of economics, human rights, and health without looking understanding how these macro issues play out on an individual level. When I learned how women and girls in Africa are placed at an additional disadvantage because of obstacles like access to feminine hygiene products, I was blown away. It never once occurred to me that something as fundamental as a maxi pad or a tampon could represent a brighter future for these women. I knew immediately that it was extremely important to get involved in the fight to effect change and improve these unfair conditions.
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