Urbeli teaches adolescents about menstruation
We shared another great moment on 28th June 2021 with Urbeli. Urbeli is our Menstrual Ambassador in the rural community of Kamber-Shahdadkot, who organised a digital menstrual session to engage and educate the adolescents and teenagers of her village after the stunning launch of the Raaji Room in village Wahid Bux Gopang.
She also invited us to discuss menstrual myths through Zoom. Urbeli hosted the gathering and invited almost 15 girls to come with the purpose of:
Engaging adolescents in rural areas
Encouraging them to speak up
Learning more about their fears and notions about periods and how they deal with them
Educating them on the basics of menstruation
The session ran for around two hours in the Raaji Room at Wahid Bux Gopang village. Urbeli spearheaded the session and introduced Raaji the chatbot. She used a smartphone and showed an offline video of Raaji The Chatbot to the girls. After that, she shared the knowledge of the chatbot related to how the menstrual cycle is a natural process, what menstrual products to use, and menstrual hygiene and misunderstandings related to menstruation that are practiced in some communities of Pakistan.
She also showed some other offline videos including: “Mere Pehli Periods Ki Kahani”, “Menstrual Hygiene Management” and “Padman Film Trailer.” The purpose of integrating offline videos was to lessen girls' fear and provide them with menstrual information that's both fascinating and amusing. Urbeli also asked a few questions in her native language during the session, such as:
Who did you inform about your menarche?
What product(s) are you using to manage your periods?
Do you face any problems during your menstrual cycle?
The participants were initially hesitant to speak, but after some time, they began to share their opinions. Some participants shared that they informed their mothers when they had their first periods. Some of them shared that they use “Kapra” (a piece of cloth) and few of them use sanitary pads during periods.
Urbeli also invited us to engage with her village's adolescent girls. We adopted a presentation format to list some of the different names for menstruation that are used in Sindh villages, such as: Maheeno (month), menses, Kapra (cloth), Mahwari (monthly), Sunnat etc.
When we questioned the participants if they had any other names for periods, it was surprising to note that they refer to periods as "Mehman" (guests) in their community.
Later, using images of children going to school, fish, milk, showering, making food, touching or eating pickles, and so on, we discovered which superstitions are prevalent in the village.
We were pleased to find that the community does not really believe in all of the myths presented. However, the participants revealed that their elders prohibit them from attending school during menstruation. One of the participants also mentioned that drinking milk during their periods is not considered good.
It was also discovered that in the village of Wahid Bux Gopang, girls who begin menstruation are meant to discontinue schooling. During the periods mentioned by the participants, some food, such as cooked fish, is also avoided. We spoke with them and informed them that they could eat fish, milk, and whatever else they liked, but we reminded them that they should eat a balanced diet since too much of anything is bad for their health.
Our discussion with the teenagers provided them greater courage to speak up and voice their opinions. Urbeli also demonstrated how to use and dispose of a sanitary pad. The participants agreed that they would not hesitate from their periods, and that those who went to school during their periods would not miss the school. The participants also asked us a few questions about period cramps, and we tried to provide them with helpful tips to lessen the cramps.
Urbeli's session was remarkable since it was the first menstrual hygiene workshop in which they used digital tools such as Zoom, Whatsapp, and YouTube.
Urbeli, our Raji Room’s champion, is implementing digital inclusion in the community with great success.