
Menstrual Cups Help Keep Kenyan Girls in School - Tomte
http://www.spiegel.de/international/tomorrow/blood-sisters-menstrual-cups-help-keep-kenyan-girls-in-school-a-1161016.html
======
franky47
The short film "Period, End of Sentence." [1] won an Oscar this year,
depicting Indian women taking control of the production process of pads
manufacturing.

In a strange sense, while that process helped women gain a bit of control over
their bodies and their lives, which is a good thing; and while it probably
also helped some girls stay in school, as some girls mentioned feeling ashamed
of doing so during their period, I initially felt like a reusable solution
would have been more liberating, while also respecting the environment.

But the initial feeling had to do with my westerner point of view, where
resources like clean water (to wash the reusable product) are abundant, and
where the products can be bought online in a few taps on a glass screen in my
pocket. The context for these women is very different: learning how to build a
pad-pressing machine and build a business out of it was definitely more
empowering than deferring that power to an external entity for the
manufacturing of reusable products.

[1]
[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6939026/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6939026/)
(available on Netflix)

~~~
MasterScrat
> "Period, End of Sentence."

That's quite a remarkable title.

~~~
coherentpony
I like the pun but I also like just how open it is. It really tries to
illustrate that "period" isn't a dirty word and that it is a normal bodily
function.

------
drewmol
If the topic is not your interest but web design is, check out the article for
the cool verticle scrolling progress indicator that's displayed horizontally
in the floating top menu bar.

My mother has been involved in operating and supporting a network of Kenyan
orphanages for decades. She's on the board of directors for the US 501c3 that
funds them. The woman who founded this organization (a US citizen) adopted
several of the orphans and spent most of her time for 20 years in the country
operating the homes until her health decline and dimensia prevented her direct
involvement. The board became aware that a director of one of the homes
(keynan born man in his mid twenties and the first adoptee of the orgs
founder) had been submitting false receipts and not paying land tax, had
kicked out orphans and was renting the property, etc. The 93 year old,
recently widowed founder did not believe the allegation and a court case (in
Kenya) between her the board ensued. Predicting resolution and subsequent
board control of the home, my mother quit her job in the US and moved to Kenya
(planned for a year) to act as interim director, reestablished the orphanage
and transition to a new local director. They instead realized that a case
between two westerners, with resources to pay attorneys and court fees, was
likely to be dragged out for _a long time_. She instead volunteered at the
nursery at Kenya Children's Home for a short time before going on to help
setup and operate a new clinic, built by the Freedom from Fistula[0]
foundation, in Madagascar.

In our correspondence, she expressed the vital need for both incontinence and
feminine hygiene supplies and consequences of a girls life without them. She
explained a tragic situation: that pubecent girls would miss unpredictable
amounts of school (often falling behind to the point of withdrawal/failure)
without them, and that there was a very real fear of being shunned for failing
to _control_ their natural bodily functions. Projects like the one in this
article, where minimal targeted investments can result in wide spread life
changing outcomes are awesome and inspiring!

~~~
veidr
Wow! If you insist on having a floating bar at the top of your web page, this
sort of scrolling progress indicator should be mandatory.

(Also, I learned about menstrual cups due to your enticing reference to the
progress indicator which tipped the balance in favor of clicking though to the
article.)

~~~
amelius
I already have a scrollbar indicating the position in the page. Now I have two
indicators, which seems a bit much.

~~~
veidr
You might, but most Apple platform users don't... (T_T)

[https://www.dropbox.com/s/o2gj5e44n5tryrt/no-scroll-bars-
waa...](https://www.dropbox.com/s/o2gj5e44n5tryrt/no-scroll-bars-
waaaah.png?dl=0)

~~~
saagarjha
The scrollbar is easy to bring back, though: just scroll a little bit.

------
rlabrecque
It absolutely blows my mind that Menstrual cups aren't more widespread
globally. I basically wouldn't even know about them if my partner didn't use
them. They seem like a better option than tampons and pads 90%+ of the time.

~~~
jaabe
My better half uses one, but after the birth of our first child she had to use
pads for a while. This was the first time I got to buy them. They are insanely
expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t using the cup. I
mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly as though women
have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t, with pads being so
expensive by comparison.

I don’t remember the prices exactly, but it’s the range of a year of cup
coverage being cheaper than one pack of pads.

~~~
ben_w
> They are insanely expensive, it’s truly mind blowing that more women aren’t
> using the cup. I mean, I know it doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s frankly
> as though women have some sort of “life-tax” attached that we men don’t,
> with pads being so expensive by comparison.

My partner introduced me to them, and when I saw how expensive they were I
immediately wondered how much it would cost to 3D print moulds for them so
that entrepreneurial Kenyans could mass produce them as a cottage industry. I
only got as far as a first print of a positive before someone pointed me to (I
think) an Alibaba listing where they cost 5¢ each if you bought 1,000 at a
time. I can’t find them quite so cheap any more, but I have just found them at
€0.18 each. Perhaps a “buy one for yourself, get a hundred more for Kenya”
marketing strategy could help? I have no idea how to do that without the
annoying and condescending out-of-touch white-male saviour stereotype though.

------
temp-dude-87844
This is a promising venture. Low-tech solutions that truly improve quality of
life. I applaud the improvements and those who've worked or donated towards
this outcome. I have so many questions, though. Some that come to mind:

1\. The number of donated cups is very low. Several thousand people are living
better, but millions more are still struggling. Is this an effort that can
scale up to provide a more universally accessible benefit? Or are there
unstated assumptions, like that publicizing the magnitude of the issue will
trigger outrage and bring about reform, or genuine ongoing efforts to follow
through with that reform?

2\. Personal hygiene products costing such a high proportion of average
earnings points to a serious failure of society, government, markets, or
perhaps all of the above. The government can't seem to provide, the markets
can't seem to adapt, and society doesn't seem to care enough to force the
issue. This isn't an exotic reason: we're talking basics for half the
population here. There are people in poverty in advanced economies who have
trouble with access to menstrual hygiene products, but the scale of the
problem highlighted in the article is astounding. It points to an ever-present
serious divide between those who greatly benefit from a connected world, and
those who are having to reconcile absurd economic realities of the transition.

3\. With a little help, one could bootstrap change. There is will among those
most affected to ensure the continuity of ventures that make this issue
better, but an injection of capital seems necessary to bring such a venture to
fruition. The donation of finished products helps people immediately, but it's
worth considering whether donating to bootstap local production of similar (or
even inferior) products would work better such that the effort can eventually
evolve to sustain itself without outside help. Sometimes, when this kind of
bootstrapping is attempted, the effort falters quickly once the outside help
leaves, because there's a lack of well-developed local institutions and
capital necessary to sustain it. But this seems different, the institutions
exist. It's the capital that's lacking.

------
drakonka
Menstrual cups rock. It takes a bit of getting used to to figure out proper
insertion/removal/cleaning. It can also take a few attempts to find exactly
the right kind of cup for each person since they all vary in length, diameter,
material firmness, etc. But once you have those things down it is really so
much more convenient and feels so much less wasteful than pads or tampons.

~~~
tropdrop
I've heard women with an IUD might have problems wearing them, which is tragic
given that IUDs are the safest, most reliable, most effective birth control
method (yet another essential life-tax to being female...) Do you know any
women personally who both have an IUD and are comfortable using the cup?

~~~
drakonka
No, I don't really even know any women who have IUDs, much less any who have
IUDs and have tried menstrual cups unfortunately.

~~~
tropdrop
Well, you know one now! I have a copper IUD and I cannot recommend it enough.
My body reacts poorly to hormones, so the pill wasn't an option, but a condom-
only based approach to birth control wasn't going to work in a monogamous,
multi-year relationship - over a ten year period, 86 in 100 women who only use
condoms become pregnant [1]. This probabilistically makes sense, given that 10
years includes hundreds or thousands of chances for intercourse. Do check out
the NYT article below - it is terrifying!

We must have saved thousands of dollars on condoms at this point, and
intercourse is much more enjoyable for both parties (with no unexpected risk
for my career). For some unknown reason (cultural?), while the UID is very
popular and obviously the best choice in parts of Europe, there remains some
taboo around it in the US... anyway, I wish I could save all this money on
disposable products with the cup, but I do not want to risk pulling it out or
entangling it.

[1] [https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/14/sunday-
review...](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/14/sunday-
review/unplanned-pregnancies.html)

~~~
drakonka
Thanks for sharing! I've never been on the pill due to the hormonal aspect as
well, but I've also heard some things that put me off of copper IUD. I'll have
to do more reading about it, but it's condoms for me for now. I'm also going
to try out Natural Cycles, considering it's been shown effective and approved
as a birth control method and I think I'm diligent enough to maintain the
proper usage it requires. Birth control method aside though, even with
condoms, if I get pregnant once in ten years I have no moral qualms about
abortion. It's something I take seriously of course, but once incident in the
span of ten years is an acceptable rate of failure for me.

------
tropdrop
This needs to come to some far villages in Nepal. In many villages, women are
banished to small, cold huts at the outskirts of villages to remain - alone,
shut in, and forbidden to go outside - until the end of the period.

[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/03...](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/03/menstruation-
rituals-nepal/)

~~~
kaybe
Y'know, I thought so too until I saw the system in Suriname.

Women are expected to work around the clock there, carry heavy things and do
all the cooking. This system means that you actually don't have to work while
possibly in pain and probably unwell, and you don't have to explain yourself
to anyone. Yes, it is a bad taboo system that assigns women a 'dirty' status,
but there are some positive effects as well (in a patriarchal society).

~~~
tropdrop
I hope you read the article I linked to - this is all info you would find
there.

I really don't agree this is "better." Given these two horrible choices, I
would rather be afforded freedom to roam (even with heavy things), get food
and go on a walk than this. There's no kitchen, so the women have to wait for
someone to bring them food or water. They're not safe in these huts - many are
exposed to the elements, and these "sinful" women are apparently free taking
for raping (which is why they try to coordinate and not go alone). Many die
from heat stroke or poisonous snakes. There aren't even beds or mattresses...
these are prison cells.

~~~
kaybe
Ok, I take it back. This situation is vastly different. Thanks for taking the
time to write this comment.

------
emerongi
Goes to school from 5AM to 5PM and then studies until 11PM? Is this normal in
the area?

~~~
kennlebu
Pretty much. Schools market themselves by showing how many of their students
performed well in National exams. It drives their perceived value up so they
can charge a lot more school fees. And the common misconception is that the
more time a student spends studying, the better they'll perform. Which results
in their teachers overloading them with school work

~~~
sdiq
And they even have holiday homework which i never understand the value of.

------
nalfien
I appreciate the concept but there is a strong RCT on this that shows that
this doesn't actually affect School Attendance.

Menstruation, Sanitary Products, and School Attendance: Evidence from a
Randomized Evaluation (AEJ: Applied 2011)

[https://4d30f248-a-383b438b-s-
sites.googlegroups.com/a/illin...](https://4d30f248-a-383b438b-s-
sites.googlegroups.com/a/illinois.edu/rebecca-
thornton/papers/OsterThorntonAEJCups.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpK17_URsnFIx9tgypp2Pf5AjWrUB9Xknj-V1gB9XwgNygJODegGVMO2DU00SyMQVwuCoypeuLDedCgMwNV1l5ZGsnLxvQQ5ix_J1-zoewAAFnB_KVCfXLOWADZpX8T2egpU6RgvgExtH6m9kgGEQk6yGBQ-x4Hf2C5gRHgiXEL4LT4fiTficVlHFt8kBOy_Sw4eI0xS3VodRn3prXe44JQrwYkrJlW4lYs-
njNeggOd79whPM%3D&attredirects=0)

------
systemBuilder
Sounds like it is way more ecologically sound than tampons; do women in
America use them? Why not?

~~~
telesilla
Thanks for asking!

When you are a young woman just getting your period, it's confusing and messy.
Society doesn't help in that it's also taboo. There is a lot of fear and worry
involved with having your period that lasts for many women through their
lives. I have friends who won't use a tampon that doesn't include the
applicator [1] (it helps insertion without needing to get your hands dirty).
So using a cup means, you are 100% going to get blood on your hands and you
are going to be very intimate with the inside of your body. For many women who
were brought up conservatively, and for those who remain conservative, this
will never be an option. I try and promote the cup among my friends and
encourage young girls to experiment in safety. Long-term, it will become more
popular.

There is also the issue of needing clean running water or wet wipes. Hygiene
is crucial in cleaning the cup between changes and of course, you need to be
able to clean your hands and have running water to deposit the menstrual
liquid [2]. I'm not sure how this would work with a non-flushing / compost
toilet actually, I found this article [3] which concludes that of course,
blood is good for compost. I don't know what the sanitary conditions are in
the kind of home these girls live in, in Kenya.

[1] [http://becomingagirl.weebly.com/applicator-
tampons.html](http://becomingagirl.weebly.com/applicator-tampons.html)

[2] [https://store.lunette.com/blogs/news/how-to-clean-
menstrual-...](https://store.lunette.com/blogs/news/how-to-clean-menstrual-
cup-in-public-toilet)

[3] [http://minimotives.com/2016/11/10/periods-composting-
toilet/](http://minimotives.com/2016/11/10/periods-composting-toilet/)

~~~
kaybe
While blood might be good for compost that also sounds like a prime method to
distribute germs and viruses. Seems dangerous.

~~~
telesilla
A compost toilet is an aerobic environment composed largely of sawdust, human
waste and sometimes earth that is decomposed by bacteria and fungi. Properly
managed, it's perfectly safe.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet)

~~~
24gttghh
You still don't necessarily want to/can't use composted human waste for
growing food for human consumption, because many jurisdictions regulate their
application in different areas of agriculture.

e.g.:

Virginia: "All materials removed from a composting privy shall be buried," and
"compost material shall not be placed in vegetable gardens or on the ground
surface.[0]

Rhode Island: "Solids produced by alternative toilets may be buried on site,"
while, "residuals shall not be applied to food crops.[1]

I'm all for doing it regardless, as it seems more sustainable than traditional
sewage treatment!

[0][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet#cite_note-26](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet#cite_note-26)

[1][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet#cite_note-25](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting_toilet#cite_note-25)

------
cerealbad
Do men in poor countries still shave with a cutthroat razor? Reusable and
repairable products take time but give certainty. I hope a happy medium will
be reached between Chinese room products and simple skill based ones.

~~~
Double_a_92
Double Edge razors are also a thing. I use one myself because I don't like the
cartridges clogging, and it's _a lot_ cheaper. Like 20$ for the razor and 10$
for a "lifetime" of blades.

