In commemoration of International Women’s Day (#IWD2022), HUMANx—a socially-conscious fashion brand—yesterday organised outreach to the Takushara community in Abuja to enlighten women on menstrual hygiene management while also donating sanitary kits.
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According to Gbemi Elekula, Founder and Creative Director of HUMANx, the programme was in keeping with the vision and mission of the brand, which is to bring about an end to period poverty in Nigeria. It was also in line with this year’s IWD campaign theme #BreaktheBias, which spotlights the individual and collective biases against women that fuel gender inequality.

“Though a naturally-occurring physiological phenomenon, menstruation and associated activities are still shrouded in secrecy and taboos here in Nigeria. In some communities, particularly in the rural areas, social restrictions are placed on menstruating females preventing them from participating in normal activities and making it difficult for them to move ahead,” Elekula stated.

“There is no equity when half the population bears the physical, emotional, mental, and financial distress as a consequence of the natural reproductive cycle needed to ensure human survival. This is why HUMANx is focused on period poverty—to generate open and honest conversations about menstruation and the problems around it, as well as to find ways to lessen the burden on the most affected females.

“At HUMANx, our belief is that young girls and women everywhere should have access to necessary information and sanitary products to manage their menstruation in a hygienic way—in safety, privacy, and with dignity. Besides enlightening them on menstruation and menstrual hygiene, we also gave out Dignity Packs comprising period pants, pain killers, reusable sanitary pads, a manual on how to launder them, soap for washing, as well as pegs for drying, to 250 women.”

Chinelo Njemanze, Programme Manager, Slay Dot Com Aid Initiative (ThriftySlayer) reechoed the need to challenge stereotypes, biases and discriminatory practices that impede women’s contributions to building a sustainable future for all. “For many low-income women, these practices are as basic as not having access to needed menstrual hygiene products or information that can help to improve their productivity during menstruation. That is why we have partnered with HUMANx on this outreach.”

In her response, Maryam Jibrilla, Women Leader of Takushara village, expressed appreciation to HUMANx and other partners for selecting the community for the programme.

“All the women have learned a lot about how to manage their periods better, and the sanitary items that you have provided will surely go a long way in alleviating our burden. We would like more well-meaning individuals, private organizations and the government to support women with laudable initiatives such as this.”
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