IT WAS MY OWN LITTLE SECRET

  I was eleven years old when the Reverend Sister walked into our room with a bag full of white towels. She made us sit down and began a lesson on menstruation. I had not started menstruating, so it felt weird listening to her, my friend and I giggled throughout the entire lesson. Even so, our behavior did not border her; as she continued her demonstration on the use and care of sanitary towels during menstruation. “I had learned how to cook, sweep, wash dresses and do other household chores but how come no one ever told me about this”, I thought to myself.

I spent the greater part of my childhood in my village Acha Tugi, in the North West region of Cameroon, living with my mum who worked as a nurse with the Presbyterian mission. During my final year in primary school, my mum was transferred to another city, but due to my final exams, I could not make the move. As a result, I stayed back with a family friend. It was during this time that I encountered the Reverend Sister who gave me what turned out to be my very first and last lesson on menstruation.

 Two years later, now living with my mum, the day finally came when I saw blood. I knew exactly what that meant because I had previous knowledge. My memory went back to our lesson with the Reverend Sister. Unfortunately, I had no towels left because I had used them for many things other than menstruation (shoe rag, dusting rag, etc). Despite haven had previous knowledge on menstruation, I did not have the nerves to tell anyone, not even my mother.  We never had that conversation, not even by mistake. Therefore, being an extreme introvert at the time, I kept the news of my menstruation to myself; it became my own little secret.

As a boarding school student, I would often draw up a list of my school needs without including a sanitary pad. I felt embarrassed to even spell it out of a piece of paper. I would instead use my pocket money to buy a pad and when I did not have enough money, l would simply use toilet tissue.

Using a toilet tissue during menstruation came with its own troubles. It made me feel very uncomfortable and anxious. I would constantly make rounds to the bathroom to check for stains or to adjust. I would lose focus during lessons and will not socialize during a break. In fact, it felt like 4 days in prison and I always look forward to regaining my freedom.  Worse of all, I even had Virginal itches which landed me in the infirmary a couple of times.

 I truly believe that whatever happens to me is a reflection of what is ongoing in my community. Just like me, there are many more young girls out there who are going through similar or even worse situations. Many parents are still completely silent about the menstruation conversation, perhaps because no one talked to them about it or just maybe because some feel it’s immoral to talk about. Menstruation knowledge is not innate in women; we need to have this conversation, in order to break this circle. Due to shame and poverty, many girls and women have resorted to using unsanitary material during menstruation, exposing them to many infections.

 This experience and many other challenges which I have encountered and overcome have molded me into the woman I am and inspired me into starting my organization called The Woman in Me (TWIN-Me).  One of our major projects is to educate women on menstrual hygiene and reusable sanitary pad production.

In commemoration of this year’s menstrual hygiene day, TWIN-Me Foundation will be launching its “ We-Care” project, with the objective of training women and girls who have been internally displaced by the crisis in the North West and southwest regions of Cameroon. Each woman trained in reusable sanitary pad production will receive a pack of 5 reusable sanitary pads which will last them for over a period of 6months. Menstruation does not know about age, war or poverty. All it does is come when it has to.  It is our responsibility to arm women and girls with tools and education which will help them deal with it.

Today, Menstruation is no longer my little secret. Being able to talk about it openly has been truly rewarding. It has encouraged a lot of young girls to let me in on “their own little secret”, and I have had the privilege of guiding them through this very delicate stage of their lives. I remain grateful to the reverend sister whose name I can’t even remember. Her stay with us was brief but very impactful. It left me with a lesson that has carried me throughout life.