May 28, 2018 is World Menstruation Health Day. With half of
the 106 million Filipinos living with monthly menstruation, one can assume,
that this is no longer a cause for shaming, bullying and stigma. However, many
Filipino women and children still live with deficient menstrual hygiene
information, limited access to toilets, taxes on affordable sanitary products,
and scarcity of basic clean water.
On top of these, they also receive in abundance, are
outdated passed-on information and behaviors about menstruation hygiene, still
taught to this day. Not following the traditional rituals are perceived to
result in comical and sad consequences such as illness, interruptions to or
increases in menstrual flow, cramps, and insanity.
