Online Reporter
Fadzayi Maposah-Correspondent
WHAT used to cause me nightmares when I was growing up, has now become part of my everyday work.
For many days, I lay awake at night wondering when I would get my first menstrual period. I longed for the menstrual period that just would not come.
I prayed and hoped that one moment I would go to the bathroom and welcome the period. It just would not come. I watched other girls start their periods while I sat in the terraces, waiting for the big day. I wondered just what was wrong with me.
There were many girls that I thought should have their periods after me, but they shocked me by having their periods before me. I have since learnt that visual tests do not work. Period.
When I was worried about not having a period, there were others who did not want the periods! They thought the periods had come earlier and maybe should have been delayed! Looking back now, it has been a good lesson that I carry with me that I also use to encourage others. In life the things that we have and take for granted, are the same things that keep others awake thinking that when they have them, they will be better off.
Having the period later than the people around me was a cause of concern (to me). I am not sure about my mother. All she would say to me, was the time would come. Maybe she shared her concerns with members of her inner circle fearing that she would have me more anxious.
I loved having my first period. After all, it came as a big sigh of relief that the anxious wait was over and I was making the grand walk into womanhood. Then the period was available every month. It became a part of my life. Years passed and with the exceptions of when I was pregnant, the period would be with me and I would attend to its needs very well.
There were days when I did not want it, but it still came. There were days when I thought having a period would affect some schedule I had, but it still came.
Having had a period that I had yearned for, for many days, I began reading around on when one stops menstruating! Having read that women reach menopause differently, I began asking if there was menopause that came early! Being human is really something else. Then it started again. The girls within my circle started reaching menopause.
The irregular periods. Some months the girls reported that they did not have any periods. There I was still buying sanitary products.
Going shopping with my female friends and reaching for sanitary wear, would draw questions. Whose sanitary wear was it? My friends and associates know that in my line of work, pad banks, sanitary wear products mobilisation are very common initiatives.
When I would respond that it was mine. The looks that I once had when I was not menstruating would come. Still menstruating, would replace what I had received as a young girl, not yet menstruating?
Imagine being in a supermarket and one is told that the others no longer make time for the sanitary wear aisle? Imagine being told that one might be late reaching menopause.
I guess that there is a lot of confusion regarding the reproductive life cycle of a woman. The confusion is made more prominent by those around us who think that the biological clock is the same for everyone. While we all have biological clocks, the hands on the clock do not have the same time for all of us.
There are those who are at noon, while others are at 3pm, others at 6pm while others are getting to midnight. Today may be Saturday, but in terms of the biological clock, it is mid-week for another woman, while another is simply starting their week.
The menstruation journey has many variations for different women. Others experience bumpy rides that need a lot of support. For others it is smooth sailing while others are on the journey yet have inadequate sanitary wear.
There is need for others to make available sanitary wear so that other women have the menstrual journey with dignity. With mobilised sanitary products, girls and women are equipped for the journey. Menstrual flow does not know that one does not have sanitary products, it simply makes its way out because the time has come for it to exit the body.
This article is to appreciate everyone who has gone out of their way to support menstrual journeys. While some girls and women have access to a variety of sanitary products, others are simply using what is available.
Some girls and women dread the menstrual period because they do not know what they will use. Then there are those with sanitary products, but lack vital menstruation information. Period poverty is not just lacking sanitary products. There are girls, women and even men who lack information on menstruation.
There are many people who have gone out of their way to ensure that period poverty is reduced. Menstrual health advocates are working around the clock to make the menstrual journey as comfortable as it can be for everyone.
I was excited this week to see high profile leaders, young people and media personnel converge to discuss menstrual health issues.
The two-day meeting was a huge milestone for menstrual health journeys. Issues that were considered private and surrounded with taboos are being discussed at high profile meetings. During presentations, questions that girls, women and men have are answered.
Confusion that reigned supreme is reduced. While others may think that menstruation should not be accorded all this attention and resources, the menstrual health advocates are standing up to provide the information why it is important to do so.
Menstrual health advocates are everyday heroes. They are providing a service that is relevant every day. Others are not high profile, they do not attend these high profile meetings or get any opportunity to speak and have a standing ovation, but they are working hard.
These are celebrated. What they are doing is appreciated and acknowledged. If you are doing anything to support menstrual health journeys, you are celebrated!
#2 days to Heroes Day!
