Lack of sanitary supplies for refugee girls and women

Members of of the youth-led nonprofit The Period Society (TPS) hold signs reading: “Access to menstrual products is a human right. Period.” (Courtesy of Khwahish Khan)

As the crisis in Afghanistan unfolds, 19-year-old Indian student Khwahish Khan writes about the overlooked menstrual hygiene needs of refugees.

For refugee girls and women, lack of access to the products, facilities or education they need to manage their periods exacerbates what is already a dangerous and challenging time.

A Global One study found that almost 60% of girls and women in refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon did not have access to underwear — and many did not have any remaining sanitary products. Instead, they often resort to using old rags and pieces of moss mattresses while on their periods, highly unhygienic alternatives that can lead to diseases like fungal infection, reproductive tract infection and urinary infection.

Without sanitary products to allow them freedom of movement, refugee girls and women find themselves unable to wait in lines to get food, water or receive other support services such as language lessons or psychosocial counseling. Lack of access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities disproportionately affects refugee girls and women, making period management even more difficult.

19-year-old Khwahish Khan is fighting to end period poverty and make sure every girl and woman in India has access to period products. (Courtesy of Khwahish Khan)

Despite these concerns, when leaders discuss the needs of refugees, it’s very rare to hear them talk about the menstrual hygiene needs of girls and women. Although girls and women make up 50% of the world's refugee population, in 2014, only 4% of projects in U.N. inter-agency appeals targeted girls and women. Menstrual support often doesn’t receive the same level of attention as other refugee issues potentially because it affects girls and women — and the people in decision-making spaces are often men.

Along with the rest of the world, I have been watching the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. And as I’ve watched, I’ve been thinking about the menstrual needs of Afghan girls and women. I know how panicked and disoriented I feel when I unexpectedly get my period and am unprepared for it. Leaders need to put themselves in Afghan girls’ and women’s shoes and ensure they account for their menstrual needs. 

I’m already working to do my part. As part of the youth-led nonprofit The Period Society (TPS), I fight to end period poverty and make sure every girl and woman in India has access to period products. We have successfully provided 2,000+ menstruators with enough period products to sustain them for the next three years. Due to the recent influx of Afghan refugee families in New Delhi, we are focusing our efforts to support the newly-arrived Afghan girls and women.

“I know how panicked and disoriented I feel when I unexpectedly get my period and am unprepared for it. Leaders need to put themselves in Afghan girls’ and women’s shoes and ensure they account for their menstrual needs.”

— Khwahish Khan

Right now, the team at TPS is partnering with Samarpan Foundation's Empowerment Center for Afghan Refugee Center to raise funds to provide basic hygiene and ration kits to Afghan refugee girls and women. The hygiene kit will include essentials such as soap, period products, sanitizers and masks. The ration kits — which include wheat flour, rice, lentils, sugar, salt, haldi, oil and tea leaves — will help over 90 Afghan refugee families who have lost their primary breadwinners.

Through this effort with TPS, I hope to raise awareness about the menstrual needs of Afghan girls and women. For too long, societies have labeled discussions about periods as taboo. In too many crises, leaders have overlooked the menstruation needs of displaced people. It’s time our governments take period hygiene into account and work to guarantee every girl’s and woman’s right to a safe and healthy period.