WOMEN REPLACE SANITARY PADS WITH DIAPERS AND PIECES OF CLOTH IN CRISIS-HIT LEBANON

Fei 09 July 2021:

In crisis-hit Lebanon, the repercussions of the crippling economic crisis affect even the menstrual cycle.

28-year-old Sherine cannot afford sanitary napkins, so she is forced to use old clothes or the diapers of her infant daughter.

“I’d rather stop having my period because of the high prices,” Sherine told AFP.

When prices started rising months ago, Sherine resorted to buying relatively cheap types of sanitary pads from unknown brands, which caused her allergies. Today, however, it can no longer afford it, explaining that she had to prioritize milk for her daughter.

Sherine never thought that she would have to share diapers with her baby, which she gets mainly through aid.

Her eyes watered, before she continued, “I currently use towels and pieces of cloth, I cut the diaper to use it twice, especially when I leave [the house].”

As a result of the accelerating economic collapse since the summer of 2019, 55 percent of the Lebanese people are now living below the poverty line, according to the United Nations. With the lira losing more than 90 percent of its value against the dollar, the prices of all kinds of commodities rose dramatically, and other markets were cut off, including chronic medicines and infant formula.

Like other commodities, the prices of sanitary napkins have gradually increased by about 500 percent in recent months. The price of some types today range between 13,000 and 34,000, compared to 3,000 in the past.

– “Bank or towels?” –

Sanitary napkins were never among the commodities subsidized by the authorities, which began a while ago and gradually lifted subsidies on several commodities, the latest of which was fuels and even sugar, coffee and meat.

At the “Eid Clothes” store in Beirut, which is mainly dedicated to distributing second-hand clothes for free to needy families, a few days ago a woman came to Izdihar, an employee in the store, complaining about her renewed struggle to provide sanitary pads for her three daughters.

“I can no longer buy sanitary pads, sometimes I take newborn diapers from the store,” she said.

She added, “My little daughter started her period recently, and she constantly tells me ‘I don’t know how to use them (cuts of cloth and diapers), I get very confused,'” explaining, “It affects her psychologically so that she no longer goes out of the house during her period.”

Izdihar, who talks about a growing demand from women asking about sanitary pads and cloth, does not know what the situation will be like with the continuing collapse. She feels helpless, and asks heartily, “Should I give them money… or should I buy them sanitary pads?”

– ‘The same series’ –

The “My Period” initiative to combat menstrual poverty used to distribute women’s baskets that include sanitary napkins to the most needy women, but recently, “middle-class women also need them, like a bank employee whose salary is in pounds enough for her,” the My Period director said.

“We are unable to meet all the demands for sanitary napkins because donations have declined significantly,” she said, explaining, “In the past, families and students used to donate sanitary pads to us, even in small quantities, but now many are unable even to donate.”

In Shatila camp in Beirut, the international organization Days for Girls trains Palestinian refugee women who were displaced from Syria to sew sanitary napkins made of colorful cloths separated by nylon to prevent leaks.

Once the training is completed, the refugee women will prepare these towels for later distribution in the poorest areas such as Akkar in the north and the camps for displaced Syrians.

-AFP | File Photo

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