Engaging men in menstrual conversation is important because it promotes gender equality and helps to break down the taboo around menstruation.
Men who are educated about menstruation and understand the challenges that women face during this time are more likely to be supportive and empathetic.
Menstrual hygiene challenges are rooted in gender inequality
One of the underlying reasons why menstrual hygiene has been neglected is gender inequality. Unequal power relations between men and women result in women’s and girls’ voices not being heard in decision-making within households, communities, and development programmes.
They have also led to cultural taboos, stigma, and shame around menstruation including the belief, prevalent in many cultures, that menstrual blood, and menstruating women themselves, are impure.
The role of men and boys in menstrual hygiene.
Men and boys can support women and girls to manage menstruation effectively across different social domains including household, community, school, and work.
Men and boys influence women’s and girls’ experiences of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) through many roles, including as husbands, fathers, brothers, students, peers, teachers, community leaders, entrepreneurs, employers, development and humanitarian practitioners, and policymakers.
There are several ways to engage men in menstrual conversation:
1. Education: Men can be educated about the menstrual cycle and its physiological changes through workshops, seminars, and other educational programs.
2. Media: Men can be engaged through media campaigns that promote positive and accurate representations of menstruation.
3. Workplace: Men can be engaged through workplace policies and programs that support menstrual health and hygiene, such as providing menstrual products and private spaces for employees to take care of their menstrual needs.
4. Community: Men can be engaged through community-based initiatives that promote menstrual health and hygiene, such as providing menstrual products in public spaces and schools.
5. Encourage open conversations, ask questions and make sure to educate them about the menstrual cycle, period pains, and the importance of menstrual hygiene.
6. Ultimately, engaging men in menstrual conversation helps to create a more inclusive and equitable society, where all individuals have access to the information and resources they need to take care of their menstrual health.
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