Apart from the International Day of Action for Women’s Health, we also celebrated Menstrual Hygiene Day on the 28th of May.
This event is all about raising awareness, crashing negative social norms surrounding menstrual hygiene management, and calling on decision-makers’ attention to act on the most pressing issues related to menstrual hygiene management.
This year’s celebration has the theme #ItsTimeForAction.
It puts an emphasis on the collective action needed to break the stigma on menstruation and promote period education for all. It also pushes for the empowerment of women and girls, so they can unlock educational and economic opportunities.
We at Sinaya Cup have always been passionately contributing to the fight against period stigma and promoting women’s empowerment. In fact, apart from providing Filipino menstruators a more convenient and cost-efficient period product, we have also been busy with our own CUPacity Caravan.
In this program of ours, we hold sessions with female senior high school students from public schools. In each session, participants learn about important topics like menstrual health management, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and women empowerment.
This stems from our desire to impart bits of knowledge with younger girls, knowing that learning about such topics can empower them as they grow older and take their chosen paths in life.
Moreover, we believe that it’s best to start young. By doing so, we can already correct the misconceptions they might have already heard elsewhere. As we know, these erroneous pieces of information about menstrual and reproductive health, in general, can harm them if not corrected.
It is also a great way to ensure that these girls would not easily fall into the dangerous traps set by the society that is not yet free of sexist and misogynistic ideas about women’s bodies and experiences. It’s about time to crush the misconceptions that power those negative judgments thrown at women.
So far, we have gotten a lot of positive comments from previous participants. Many of them were glad to have learned more about their bodies and learn about the truth behind some of the most common myths that had held them back for a long time.
Here are what some of them have to say:
“I’ve learned what to do if you are having menstrual cycle. Don’t believe in the myths because they’re not true.”
“We can manage our mens and with proper hygiene we can do the things we want to.”
”Bilang isang babae kailangan maging mulat tayo about these topics. Dahil kailangan na nating mag-mature.”
“Be aware of our body and take good care. Keep yourself clean and in good condition.”
“Importante lahat dahil nalaman ko kung paano ko maiiwasan ang mga STD and STI at yung tungkol sa PCOS at kung ano ang gagawin para manatiling malinis ang ating katawan kahit may menstruation.”
“I’ve learned about menstrual cycle. At yung mga myths about hymen and virginity.”
Informed women are empowered women. By equipping these women and girls with the right information about how their bodies work, we are also helping them to become more comfortable with themselves.
It is also a great way to remind them of how powerful they already are and what they can do to change the world.
Do you want to contribute to our fight?
We are currently in need of individuals who can help us with our advocacy. To learn more about opportunities at Sinaya Cup, kindly check out the Jobs section of our official Facebook page.
No need to wait any longer. Act with us now, because definitely, #ItsTimeForAction.
