After publishing
the previous post, I have continued my reading on issues relating to female
sanitation. I came across this article on the Huffington Post, which describes
how menstrual cups might be part of a solution to some of the gendered
sanitation problems I discusses earlier. I thought I would just share some of
the overall points with you.
Basically,
menstrual cups are made of silicone “and are inserted into the vagina to
collect, rather than absorb menstrual fluid” (Rubil 2014:online). They can
usually provide about 12 hours of protection and the cup can be reused up to 10
years. The cup is pictured in image 1 below.
Image 1: Menstruation cup (from: Rubil 2014)
This simple
technology has two very important benefits:
·
12
hours of protection means that women can get through a school day without
having to worry about finding safe sanitary facilities near the school
·
Once
a cup is required the monthly expense of buying sanitary pads disappears
Despite these
advantages, the need for safe sanitary facilities has not disappeared, but
perhaps the menstruation cup can be part of an interim solution? Have a look at
the article, a let me know what you think!
I realise that all
this talk about periods might not be most people’s average conversation topic,
but I believe that it is absolutely crucial to talk about these issues, take
them seriously and get over their taboo-status!
I personally think the "mooncup" is a brilliant idea, and in many ways much more modern and useful than old sanitary methods. The fact that it may enable more girls to attend school is perhaps its greatest merit, an absolutely amazing prospect.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that crosses my mind as a small irritant is, as you also mention, the feeling that the menstrual cup is introduced somehow because we give up on adjusting facilities so that they also cater to the needs of girls and women. Whilst the menstrual cup is therefore a great invention, I am sceptical towards so-called 'interim solutions', only because they tend to become permanent solutions when real change is not a priority of those in power.
Thank you so much for the comment! I think your point about political will is crucial! We need more women in powerful political positions to ensure that these issues are a priority, maybe the 'mooncup' is the first step in that direction :-)
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