XX Factor: the blog

Tampons: A Universal Human Right?

Here's a regular statistic, and then a shocking one: Every month, a large percentage of the world's adult population menstruates. But in emerging markets, that group can scarcely afford the protection. Women worldwide are no longer exiled to tents and deemed "unclean"—but according to the She28 Campaign, a fledgling advocacy group, many thousands are still forced to exit their daily lives and livelihoods during their monthly periods. Watch:

I am not sure that the execution of this video campaign is the most compelling—but this strikes me as a totally underreported reality. Women in developed nations take for granted the drugstores and Costcos in which tampons are readily available, but perhaps ignore the Herculean struggle to manage one's monthly flow in resource-poor regions of the world.

From a holistic policy perspective, marrying the education of girls and women with the provision of sanitary napkins seems like the right move. Public schools worldwide should support young women who might otherwise miss crucial elements of their education or career by offering pads and tampons free of charge. Certainly this basic commodity should be treated as integral to female development—as important to U.S. aid policy as maize and malaria nets. As we know, educating women and offering them a means to understand and regulate their fertility is a key component of economic progress in developing nations.

Perhaps we could use some of that money that the Democrat-controlled Senate Finance Committee recently appropriated for abstinence-only education?

Comments

Cultural values play a role in healthcare

By: ibuguru | Sat, 10/10/2009 - 00:47

I am an American living in a remote part of Asia. Friends and neighbors of mine use rags or bark for their menses. Disposable pads are available in stores, but the expense is considered prohibitive. While I have "gone local" in many ways, I eventually switched from importing tampons to using a silicon cup: vastly more convenient.

But convenience is **my** value, not my friends'. Menstruation is a part of the rhythm of their lives, in addition to frequent guests, daily market shopping, and friendly requests to borrow money--all of which I consider interruptions to my time and purpose. I blame my body for keeping me from what I want to do, whereas my local friends accept their bodies as the natural environment in which their lives take place, through different seasons, for work and for rest.

Generally speaking, basic hygiene could be improved here. But whether tampons alone afford greater economic and personal opportunities projects the values and economy of the Western world on decidedly different patterns of life.

I don't like the "time is money" appeal this video takes to garner donor support (or that poor=dirty), but I do like the idea that supply and demand is determined locally. It is up to local communities who decide whether this opportunity is meaningful to them.

Is toilet paper a human

By: 2Sassy | Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:47

Is toilet paper a human right? I don't think so.
I realize tampons are different since only women menstruate, and thus women are often unfairly and negatively impacted by this...But I'm not so sure tampons should be supplied to every lady the world over--if only because it would mean supporting the feminine hygiene industry. An industry run by pharmaceutical companies that promote a rhetoric of uncleanliness and shame around menstruation, and also contribute to health risks like toxic shock syndrome, not to mention all the environmental pollution caused by tampons (used tampons but also the chemicals used in their production).

I use a keeper too, this seems like a safer, cheaper, more responsible alternative.

Only one disagreement

By: JDWebb | Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:16

Can you please find a new editor for headlines? From the perspective of political theory the notion that this is a universal human right makes no sense. Not all humans menstruate.

Universal right for women? Arguably yes.

alternatives to tampons

By: canadian | Fri, 10/09/2009 - 14:09

I have used a Keeper, and now a Diva Cup, for 5 years and I have not missed tampons or pads at all. Both are easy to use, and instead of paying for a fresh supply each month, you only need to pay once. This kind of technology is truly groundbreaking in that it removes the monthly financial penalty for bleeding. Give one a try - you'll be glad you did!

alternatives to pads/tampons

By: abbymars | Fri, 10/09/2009 - 11:32

Completely agreed, but alternatives to pads/tampons should be considered too. Perhaps products like the keeper: http://www.thekeeper.com/ would be a possible alternative. While in the peace corps in sub-Saharan Africa, I witnessed firsthand the high cost of tampons/pads (2x what you'd pay in the states), and the extremely limited garbage facilities. I used a product like the keeper and felt like it was a good solution for women in developing countries.