Periods in crisis
What's it like having a period
in a humanitarian emergency?
If your home was struck by an earthquake or flood, or you were forced to flee your country because of war... what would you do about your period?
Would you be able to go without tampons, pads, clean water and soap, or even underwear?
For millions of women and girls around the world, this is a reality faced on a monthly basis.
Because for refugees escaping conflict, communities displaced by natural disasters, and families fleeing their homes due to climate change, periods aren't just a simple inconvenience.
They can be a monthly emergency.
What would you do if you had nothing, and then you started your period?
1. Periods don't stop
Around the world, there are more refugees now than ever before in history.
68.5 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide, and every day 44,000 people are forced to flee their homes because of conflict or persecution.
As the scale of the international refugee crisis grows, so too does the impact of climate change on communities, which we know is hitting the world's poorest people first, and hardest.
And for women and girls making these dangerous journeys, the experience can be very different.
The danger of being a woman or girl
The risk of violence - including sexual violence - increases during all kinds of emergencies.
Women and girls are more at risk of violence including mass rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, forced ‘marriages’ and being forced to offer sex in exchange for food or shelter.
So for refugees facing treacherous journeys from Syria, in search of safety, or for those displaced by the devastating drought in Somaliland... just being a woman or girl can be the most dangerous thing of all.
Twenty-one-year-old Roya, pictured with her sons, arrived at an ActionAid Women Friendly Space in Lesvos, Greece, after making a harrowing journey from her home in Afghanistan.
“It was definitely harder for the women on the journey," she told us.
"On the way from Iran to Turkey we were walking through snow to our knees but sometimes we were also in trucks.
In the trucks we were squeezed in so tightly together. I couldn’t sit near my family. I was between some men I didn’t know and the man next to me kept touching me."
Roya told us about her mother having her period. She had nothing to use to manage it.
She had to rip a dirty piece from her dress and use that. She also found some leaves to use."
2. Periods aren't free
In many of the countries where ActionAid works, access to clean, safe sanitary products is already low.
Because sanitary products are too expensive, or not readily available from local shops, communities often develop alternative, improvised methods of managing their periods, like a nyanda, pictured below - a large piece of cloth worn traditionally in Malawi.
At worst, traditional cultural norms mean women and girls simply stay at home during their period - missing school or work and becoming isolated to avoid the shame of period leaks.
The impact of period poverty
Period poverty affects millions of women and girls, in the UK and in the world's poorest countries alike.
But when crises happen, even women and girls who once had comfortable lives often find themselves completely without the sanitary products they need.
They might find that can no longer find sanitary products or, having lost everything they had, they can no longer afford them.
And for those who've never been able to afford pads or tampons, disasters and conflict can make a bad situation much, much worse.
3. Periods aren't harmless
Being on your period, and not have anything to manage it with, can be distressing, isolating, and cause feelings of complete loss of control and dignity.
But it can also be dangerous. Because without tampons, pads, clean water, soap, and sometimes even underwear, women and girls are often forced to improvise.
That can mean using dirty rags, leaves or even tree bark. It might even mean reusing the same tampon or pad for many days on end, hoping for the next opportunity to buy a new one to replace it.
Why reusable menstrual cups and pads aren't always an option
Reusable options like washable pads or cups are usually unavailable in crisis situations.
Even if they were available, women usually don't have private bathroom spaces in which to empty or insert them, and without thoroughly washing cups and pads in clean water, there is a serious risk of life-threatening infection.
That's why at ActionAid we know sanitary products are not a nice-to-have.
They're not a luxury, or an added bonus.
They are vital.
4. How we support women and girls in crisis
ActionAid works with refugees, internally displaced people and women and girls living in the world's poorest countries. We know that in a crisis, women's and girls' rights are at risk.
That's why we put women and girls at the heart of what we do.
How hygiene kits help women and girls
In an emergency, we distribute life-saving aid to those in need, including hygiene kits containing the essentials women and girls need to manage their periods - underwear, sanitary pads, soap and more.
Sajida is from Deljor, Syria. She arrived at an ActionAid Women's Space in Greece after fleeing the bombs in her home country. She told us she had lived in fear of ISIS.
"We would have fled earlier if we could, but we didn’t have enough money," she said. "We were hoping that the war would end."
Right now, I’m dreaming of living a life without fear. In Syria we were so scared we couldn’t sleep at night. All I want is for my children to have one night’s sleep without fear."
“We will continue our journey until we get somewhere safe. Thank you for the hygiene kit. We need everything in it."
5. How you can help
Fourteen-year-old Dolana (not her real name) is a Rohingya refugee.
She got her period on the second day of a terrifying 10-day journey escaping violence in Myanmar to reach the safety of a camp in Bangladesh.
She escaped with her family after the attacks on Rohingya villages in her home country.
On the journey, she had no sanitary protection. She told us that this caused her fear, as well as shame.
No girl should have to feel this way.
That's why we're working hard to put an end to period poverty all over the world, and to provide vital aid to women and girls who've lost everything in humanitarian crises.
But there's so much more to do.
By giving just £3 a month, you could help provide a sanitary kit for a girl like Dolana, who has nothing else.
Can you help? Please donate today.
Photography by Noor Alam/ActionAid; Karin Schermbrucker/ActionAid; Samantha Reinders/ActionAid; Anna Pantelia/ActionAid; Ernanio Mandlate/KISAI/ActionAid; Getty Images.
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