A matter of dignity: Activists redefine menstruation as a human rights issue

By A Representative 

For millions of women who menstruate every month, the simple act of bleeding has become a battleground for fundamental human rights. From refugee camps in war-torn regions to informal settlements hit by climate disasters, menstruators face discrimination that activists say goes far deeper than access to pads.

Radha Paudel, a nurse and activist from Nepal who founded the Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation, argues that dignified menstruation is not merely about hygiene products but about the very rights that define humanity. "Dignified menstruation is rooted in right to dignity, right to freedom, right to equality and right to non-discrimination," she said. 

"It means no matter whether menstruating persons are in the evacuation camp or refugee camp or camps for the war-affected population, or any climate or manmade disaster relief camps, we need to prioritise the needs and priorities of menstruators."

Paudel challenges what she calls the conventional definition of menstrual discrimination, which she describes as widespread globally in countless forms. "Menstrual discrimination plays a vital role in construction of the unequal power relation, patriarchy and exclusion. It is the departure point when we talk about the climate justice or menstrual product or any kind of rights for menstruators," she explained. "That is why, beyond the distribution of the menstrual pads or accessibility issues, we need to think of menstruators as a human being. Most of the policies, even at the village level, often missed counting the menstruators in all diversities."

She also takes aim at the language commonly used to describe menstrual products. "I am not saying 'sanitary' pad because our blood is clean – it is pure blood," Paudel declared. "Distribution of free menstrual pad or menstrual product is dehumanised and colonised mindset. The entire planning process misses out the needs and priorities of menstruators."

Paudel was speaking at the SHE & Rights session marking the International Day of Action for Women's Health and Menstrual Hygiene, organised by the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights and CNS, along with several partner organisations.

Shobha Shukla, Coordinator and Host of the SHE & Rights campaign, warned that achieving a period-friendly world is becoming increasingly difficult in what she termed the current "anti-rights and anti-gender era." She described a global poly-crisis marked by runaway inflation, climate-induced disasters, supply chain disruptions, and systemic poverty. 

"For the 500 million people globally, who experience period poverty every month, the poly-crisis has shifted menstrual hygiene from a basic healthcare right to an impossible financial trade-off. Families are increasingly forced to prioritise food and fuel over menstrual products," Shukla said.

In the Philippines, the reality of this crisis plays out in devastating ways. Joie Cortina, a menstrual health and dignity advocate and Programme Officer of the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights, recalled how after a fire broke out in an informal settlement, displaced communities mentioned underwear as a critical need. 

"I can imagine if you are a person who is menstruating, and you lost everything that you had in a fire, of course you have to uphold your dignity. So, these things really affect the menstruators in a very visceral way," Cortina said. She added that when menstruators from resource-poor backgrounds are already struggling to afford food or medicines, climate crises affect their bodies, their wellbeing, and their ability to make decisions or advocate for themselves.

Rita Widiadana, a gender and health justice advocate and former editor of The Jakarta Post, described a similar situation in Indonesia, where period poverty is driven by financial constraints and inadequate infrastructure. "In such crisis situations, women and girls lost their safe spaces. They lost access to clean water and human dignity while facing increasing health risk," she said. 

"Majority of girls who are living in low-income households, sanitary pads is a luxury. When inflation comes, it means that the price of sanitary pads increases." Widiadana stressed that relief efforts often neglect the needs of menstruating girls and women because aid workers mistakenly believe food, water and medicines are the only essential priorities. "Reality is far from this because menstrual products are not non-essential but critical for menstrual hygiene and dignity," she said.

From Uganda, Angel Babirye, President of the African Youth and Adolescent Network East and Southern Africa and CEO of Us for Girls Foundation, described how inflation has driven up the price of menstrual products globally. "Menstrual products are not luxury items," she insisted. "So many families are confronted with the dilemma if they should buy food for the household or a sanitary pad for those who are menstruating." 

She explained that many families end up stretching products beyond safe use, with a pad designed for six to eight hours sometimes used for an entire day. "This injustice has increased the susceptibility of young girls to reproductive tract infections," Babirye said, adding that some menstruators are forced to resort to unsafe alternatives such as socks or dried dung. "Girls are forced to miss school when they fail to access or afford menstrual products timely."

Babirye also emphasised a simple but often overlooked fact: periods do not stop for wars or humanitarian crises. "That is why we must integrate menstrual health in disaster preparedness plans. Menstrual health must not come as an 'afterthought' when we are struck with disasters or crisis situations," she said. Beyond pads, she noted the need for access to clean water, privacy, and menstrual literacy, as well as the importance of engaging boys and men. "If a menstruating person has period pain, it needs to be understood by everyone that it is real experience she and many others go through."

Cortina of WGNRR added that when preparing menstrual dignity packs for families affected by crisis, there is often resistance to including sanitary pads or even underwear, based on the mistaken belief that these commodities are not essential. "Such harmful stereotypes affect the sense of dignity of menstruating individuals in crisis," she said.

Paudel returned to the concept of menstrual discrimination, describing it as complex and multifaceted rather than a single event or act. "A range of perception and practices, which includes silence, taboo, stigma, restriction, abuses, violences and deprivation from resources and denial of services throughout the lifecycle of menstruators in all diversities," she said. "Unless we understand the complexity of menstrual discrimination, we cannot address menstruation or do lip service to 'dignity.'" She warned that menstrual discrimination leads menstruators to consider themselves inferior, powerless and vulnerable, while non-menstruators see themselves as superior and in control, reinforcing patriarchy and unequal power relations. "Since all of humanity is formed from blood and the womb, menstruation is life-affirming rather than a source of shame or impurity," she concluded.

In a separate but related development welcomed by gender justice advocates, the International PCOS Network, in collaboration with The Lancet, officially renamed Polycystic Ovary Syndrome to Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome in May 2026. "The old name misdiagnosed the condition as simply 'ovarian cysts,'" said Shobha Shukla. "PMOS is a complex, systemic hormonal and metabolic disorder affecting one in eight women worldwide, directly driving insulin resistance, mental health struggles, and irregular bleeding." Cortina agreed, noting that historically, the lived experiences of women in the hard sciences have been relegated to the sidelines. "This welcome shift from PCOS to PMOS is reflective of listening," she said, providing advocates with knowledge for a more holistic approach to health.