Period poverty – Fostering gender equality through transformative learning

Abstract

Period poverty is a global phenomenon that affects billions of people, particularly menstruators from developing countries, low-income families, and marginalised communities who lack access to sanitary products, education on healthy period management practices, and basic water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities to manage their periods with dignity. This results in stigma, shame, limited educational and socio-economic opportunities as well as affects their physical and mental health. In recent years, there has been growing awareness and sensitisation around period poverty worldwide, but there is still a long way to go in terms of eradicating the taboos, negative social norms, and values surrounding period poverty. Transformative learning offers a potential solution to address period poverty by fostering critical reflection, and action among individuals and communities to challenge and transform the structural causes of this issue. Transformative learning can play a key role in eradicating period poverty by providing individuals and communities with the right knowledge, skills, and tools to advocate for their rights, challenge social norms, gender stereotypes, and take collective actions to address the problem. By creating a learning environment that promotes critical reflection, dialogue, and collaboration, individuals and communities can eradicate period poverty and promote gender equality.