29 September 2017
free Red days
The female body has an effective apparatus that
protects the reproductive system during the menstrual period, however, dirty and
unhygienic menstrual attitude can lead to the most offensive odor which is
common among young girls in school.
Bad use of sanitary products such as letting a pad
dry on you as a result of not changing frequently can lead to infection and
various levels of irritation and unease. Pads are usually supposed to be
changed at least 3-4 times a day and not until they are full or soiled. Isn’t it
a terrible thing to see sanitary pads flying around on the streets, sometimes
you even see dogs struggling with it? (Disgusting right?).
Pads can
harbor various infections and therefore needs to be disposed properly.
Some women make use of old and used cloth as a
result of limited access to pads or as a result of financial restrictions, they
cannot afford to buy pads. In other to prevent infections, disposable pads are
recommended to be used for menstruation. Some mothers even think that it is ideal
to use the cloth as it is washable and reusable but what they fail to realize is
that sanitary pads are more comfortable and easy to dispose of. An infection in
the vagina easily moves to the urinary tract and that is the reason I advise no
reusable item for menstruation.
Most young women think that when they are on their
period, something strange is happening to their body. The dynamics of
menstruation can feel very strange to a young girl that is just starting to
menstruate and this is why the parents need to be readily available to teach
them everything that they need to know. It is necessary to take note of every
irregularities and change in menstrual pattern.
Stress, Lack of exercise, an unhealthy diet and
hormonal disorder can lead to menstrual irregularities. And in turn, result in abnormal
bleeding such as bleeding which causes anemia.
It is a sad but true reality that a lot of young
girls stay out of school. In Tanzania, a ten-day survey was conducted and it
was discovered that most schools do not have water, menstrual hygiene products, and clean toilets facilities and these factors are some of what makes the girls
remain at home during their menstrual periods. This scenario is not just
peculiar to Tanzania alone. In most African countries, this is the situation , especially in public schools. Another research was conducted by the united
nations (UNICEF) in 2003 indicating that 1 in 10 African girl misses out on
school activities by not going to school during their menstrual period which
usually leads to the dropping out of school.
This is why there is need for menstrual hygiene to
be taught in schools and also menstrual hygiene products should to be readily
available for free in schools.
President
Nana Nkufo -Addo of Ghana during the last Eid Kabir Ceremony admonished Muslim
faithfuls to make sure that they pay keen attention to the education of their
children most especially the girl child.
During
the Eid prayers that took place at the independence square in Ghana, the
president in his speech said that to tackle ignorance, poverty and diseases, we
need to get our children educated. He made reference to Prophet Mohamed’s
warning to his followers and I quote ‘knowledge is the lost property of the
believer, let him or her find it wherever he will’.
He
however acknowledges the fact that there are various barriers in the way of
education and finance is the highest of them. He asked a rhetorical question
saying that by what means do we attain religious responsibility of attaining
knowledge if the means are not available?
He
continued by emphasising the fact that the Ghanaian government has tried in
various ways to encourage the education of children and an example of such is
the introduction of free senior school program. This program is a policy of the
government to help with the improvement of education standard in Ghana. The
policy will see that the total cost of tuition fee is catered for, feeding is
catered for as well as accommodation for everyone registered into senior
secondary school. It is observed that a staggering 57.8% of the Ghanaian
population is currently below the age of 25 year old which means that more than
half of the population of Ghana fall under the age bracket of those that should
be attending school or just finishing school. Therefore, President Nana-Akufo
Ado encourages Muslim Faithfuls across Ghana to take advantage of the amazing
opportunity to send their children to school.
This is a
good one from Ghana and I am super excited about this! To all my Ghanaian
people make sure the news get round so that all our children will have the
education that they deserve.
18 September 2017
Child Sexual Abuse
Child sexual abuse is an under reported offense in
Nigeria and it is even gradually becoming some sort of epidemic that is
gradually becoming some sort of epidemic that is very difficult to measure. A survey
conducted by the United Nations on demographics and health reported that 10% of
girls might have experienced sexual violence between the ages of 10 - 14years,
30% of girls might experience sexual violence between the ages of 15 - 19years
and in general, about 42% of Nigerian girls experience some sort of sexual
violence.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a 9 year old girl
that was sexually abused by her next door neighbour (if you missed it catch up here) the case is still in court and has been adjourn to the 16th of
October 2017. The innocent girl was just stepping out to use the toilet when
the neighbour called her and assaulted her. There is no magical way of totally getting rid
of sexual abuse of children but there is one thing that can be done and it is
called PREVENTION.
Preventive methods can be put in place especially
since the sexual abuse happen around the homes and school environments. I was recently
at a training that was conducted by MONA International Children’s Foundation
for facilitators against child sexual abuse, and I will be sharing with you a
few tips that I learnt on how to prevent Child Sexual Abuse.
1. We need to understand that all children are vulnerable no matter your social status. Do not be of the school of thought that it is only children that are less privileged that fall victims of sexual abuse.
2. Sexual predators can come in any form such as pastors, uncles, neighbours and even some fathers however that is not to say that all men are pedophiles or sexual abusers, No! Please don’t get me wrong. All I am trying to say is paedophile and sexual abuser is not written on anybody’s face and by the way most of these sexual abusers, when caught they always say it is their first time. So we need to make sure that our daughter do not fall victim.
3. To prevent sexual abuse, our young girls should not be left alone with a stranger. This is extremely very dangerous as the stranger will commit the act and away with the notion that he absolutely has nothing to lose.
4. Children, most especially the girl child should not be left at home with a young male relative as they are young and can be easily tempted.
5. There should be no room for unnecessary intimacy between the girl child and male family members.
6. Mothers should build a very strong trust bond with their daughters. This point is very important because all children are very vulnerable to sexual abuse but the girl child is at a higher risk. Mothers need to let the girl child understand that they can confide in them. You need to listen to everything she say and even the things that she is not saying. Reading her body language and cajoling her to talk to you even if she isn’t in the mood to do so. When it comes to the issue of sexual assault, parents need to approach the topic with the child in tenderness, patience and affection.
7. We also need to avoid sending young children on errands within the neighbourhood. If you really have to, you need to impose it on them not to go into anybody’s house or cars but directly to where you asked them to go.
8. For Schools, a Child Psychologist should be employed and readily available in every schools so that potential problems in a child can be easily identified and sexual violence can be detected and eradicated in schools.
I will also like to remind us that the concept of sex education shouldn’t be confined to secondary schools alone because children of ages 4, 5, and 6 years are falling victims of sexual assault. We can prevent these by teaching our children early enough about their body parts. They need to know which body part is private and which one isn’t and if anyone tries to touch the 'private part' they should be reported. It should be noted that these predators usually entice the kids by offering them goodies such as sweets, chocolates, money etc. and always threaten them not to tell anybody.
In case you live in Lagos State, Nigeria, the short service code to call in case of child abuse using your mobile phone is ‘6820’
13 September 2017
menstrual hygiene
Menstruation
is a very important aspect of reproductive health however, many culture see it
as a shameful and dirty condition. So many girls and young women today are
faced with the difficulty of inadequate access to inexpensive and hygienic
sanitary items thereby making menstrual periods uncomfortable an unhygienic. A
study conducted by UNICEF showed that 1 in 3 South Asian girls had no prior
information about menstruation before they started menstruating.
Mr Femi
Aluko, who is the Menstrual Health Management (MHM) Coordinator for UNICEF in
Osun State on Monday 11th September 2017, addressed the need
for the eradication of the various misconceptions surrounding menstruation. Mr
Aluko made this address during the Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) in
Ijebu-Ijesha, Osun State. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the
MHM Coordinator spoke about the various misconceptions surrounding menstruation
and how it has become an embarrassment and also led to lack of self confidence
among girls and young women.
The MHM
Coordinator said that an increase in Menstrual Hygiene Awareness is
needed as it is a Human Right as well as a global issue which requires the
attention of every stakeholder. Menstrual Hygiene according to Mr Aluko is not
just about managing menstrual periods but most especially addressing societal
belief that surrounds the issue of menstruation.
There is
a bill that is currently under consideration to be passed into law by the
California Senate in the United States. This bill will require that schools
provide certain feminine / menstrual hygiene products for students without
charging them a penny. According to a report of their Senate Education
Committee Analysis, Cristina Garcia argues that menstrual products are medical
products for anybody that menstruates. She also argued that some young girls
are absent from classes as a result of little or no access to sanitary
products. She made reference to a research project that was conducted in New
York City where free menstrual products were provided for students in middle
and high school and it was reported that there was about 2.4% increase in
school attendance during this project. She also addresses the fact that
inadequate menstrual hygiene management especially among girls and women from
low income families can lead to infections, emotional pressure as well as
cervical cancer.
It is
interesting to note that the same situation of Menstrual Hygiene in the United
States (which is a developed country) is also applicable to our society in
Nigeria and Africa as a whole. Majority of our young girls make use of
unhygienic products such as cloth, tissue paper, newspaper e.t.c during their
menstrual periods and these can lead to urinary tract infection among all other
infections.
I am of
the opinion that a system can be put in place where young girls especially
those in public schools can have direct and easy access to Menstrual Hygiene products so
that no child will be missing classes as a result of her menstrual periods and
various levels of infections can be prevented. These and more will bring us
closer to achieving a sustainable development goal.
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