Who would have thought in 2021 that we’d still be dealing with the issue of ‘Menstrual Poverty’ in developing countries? Sadly that is very much the case concerning girls and women who are missing on average 12 weeks a year from school and work due to the lack of femine products. Many females use grass, stones and newspapers while others are ostracised by their families during this time and are forced to live in a separate hut, where they fall prey to evil rapists. Female Dignity (FD) is a charity committed to ending this poverty in the home, school and workplace.
According to the United Nations News & Commentary Global News report 800 million women menstruate daily¹. Females in the West are privileged to have access to a wide range of femine products which sadly for many women in developing countries this is a luxury not afforded to them. The article further confirmed that females are ‘considered dirty or impure during menstruation. They are restricted from daily activities such as eating certain foods, touching animals, going to school, or socializing with boys and men. In some cultures, burning a used pad symbolizes burning a baby. In extreme cases, women and girls are isolated to places like cow sheds during their period’. In this day and age this attitude is wholly unacceptable.
When a female is stripped of her dignity in such a manner, not only is she unproductive within her spirit, soul and body, it also affects her local community because simply put she is unable to study or and work, and the poverty cycle is handed down to the next generation. Furthermore when a menstruating woman is rejected on a monthly basis this can psychologically affect her and lead to depression, anxiety, trauma etc ².
FD is committed to providing a femine production facility to economically and hygienically empower girls and women in developing countries thus eliminating menstruation poverty, thus restoring their dignity. By providing equipment for women to make and sell these feminine products in their hometowns, the stigma and ignorance surrounding periods it is hoped will be eradicated forever, FD will also provide water wells, menstruation and Christian education in those areas.
Currently FD is working with an organisation in Jos, Nigeria and hopes (subject to meeting its funding goal) install its first feminine factory in March 2022. As the scripture says in Proverbs 31:10, [A Woman’s] Worth is Far Above Rubies, access to feminine products should never be a luxury for the haves, but it’s a fundamental right for all females to have whether they are rich or poor. At the end of the day the choice to menstruate was not one that women made but bestowed upon us by our creator God. So together let’s raise these females’ worth by restoring their dignity. Please watch this video made for FD where women are discussing their period plight, Sanitary Products Redo – YouTube If you’d like to donate to FD please contact me for more information – Thank you and God bless!
Until next time, remember you are beautiful and wonderfully made – With love Amanda x
Amanda Alexander – Founder of Elect Lady Ministries, Female Dignity & Amanda Alexander Productions All rights reserved ©
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