Female hygiene products should be given free in the military
Menstrual Pads Should Be Given Freely In The Military, Just As Condoms Are Given Freely. Sex Is A Choice, Menstruation Isn’t.
Menstruation (also known as a period and many other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. Menstruation is the cyclical shedding of the lining and is triggered by falling progesterone level. It is a sign that pregnancy has not occurred.
Menstrual pads are absorbent items worn in the underwear when menstruating in order to absorb the flow of blood from the vagina.
Condom is a sheath- shaped barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy.
In many institutions, mainly RSLAF, women are expected to be as efficient and effective as men, but are normally discriminated and segregated due to their biological feature of menstruating, as there is no menstrual leave for Female Soldiers of RSLAF which will provide them with either paid or unpaid leave of absence from their deployment while they are menstruating.
Periods are biological, it’s not something they (female soldiers) can control and they have no choice in the matter, why do female soldiers have to pay all this money for something they didn’t ask for? You can get free condoms from anywhere within the military barracks, canteens, messes and M.I. rooms but something that is supposed to help female soldiers feel better on duties and work is more expensive, that it should actually be which is upright disgusting and annoying.
Having sex is a choice, you don’t need a condom but military women can’t do without pads because if they don’t wear them, they have to face the consequences of molestation, ineffectiveness, inefficient and staining everything and making others feel uncomfortable. Having them bleed all over the place doesn’t sound hygienic.
‘’ If female soldiers don’t have periods, military men would literary vanish. So, I don’t think they would be asking too much to reduce the cost of pads or make them completely free and accessible within the army.
It’s stressful and distracting to get caught without a pad ‘’the stress of being caught without a pad is overwhelming! There is nothing quite like that feeling of panic and shame.’’ How are military ladies supposed to take command responsibilities if they are distracted from stressing about pads all day long?
Menstrual pads are very expensive and not available at deployment, for military serving women who are living in pay cheque to pay cheque, an unexpected leak can make or break their budget. The inability to afford and access sanitary pads on time is more common than we realize and affect serving women’s health. Free access to pads in the military units, formations, battalions and brigades would alleviate this problem and allow all serving women easy access to the pads they need.
It saves on waste, whilst on the subject of cost and accessibility of their periods; can we have a moment of silence for all of the panties they had to throw away over the years? If we’re going to save our country and the world from climate change, we’re really got to think about where our used underwear goes. Did you know that 20% of industrial water pollution is estimated to come from garment manufacturing, while the global apparel and footwear industries account for 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emission?
Finally, by making sanitary pads available across the military in all units’, formations’, battalions’ and brigades’ washrooms free and accessible, not only are we saving on the cost of pads, but we are saving on the cost of potentially ruined underwear, boost morale of serving female soldiers, making them effective and efficient, not discriminating them and creating a platform for gender mainstreaming, gender equity and equality across RSLAF.
By: Alusine Kadiatu Turay
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