Each year on the 28th of May, World Menstrual Hygiene Day is celebrated all around the world.
Did you know that millions of women and girls face exclusion and discrimination because they menstruate which can prevent women and girls from getting an education, earning an income, and participating in everyday life.
The majority of women and girls who live in Bangladesh cannot afford to buy disposable sanitary towels or tampons. Instead they often use rags torn from old saris. Because most women and girls are not educated in how to properly wash and store these rags after use, vaginal and urinary tract infections are very common.
At Sreepur Village our mothers have been using homemade reusable sanitary towels made out of textiles.
They receive menstrual hygiene training on the importance of cleaning the towels with soap after usage, drying them in the sun to kill bacteria and keeping them in a special bag to keep them hygienic.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?Life can sometimes throw unimaginable challenges at us, but it's the human spirit's resilience and determination that can lead to remarkable stories of triumph.
Lia's life is a testament to this spirit, marked by adversity, courage, and ultimate success. Lia's story draws parallels to other stories of perseverance, and highlights the crucial role of organisations like Sreepur Village in transforming lives.
Out of the blue, at the tender age of 13, Chia found herself sitting on a bridal stage, about to marry a man who was 35 years old. Her parents had arranged the match, finding the man from their nearby locality in Bhairab.
He was a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) businessman who occasionally sold vegetables and fruits on the street. Chia's aspirations and youthful dreams were abruptly interrupted by this sudden marriage. Instead of books, she found herself with kitchen utensils in her hands. She went from feeling like a princess to becoming a servant overnight.