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Mail & Guardian
menstruationlatest news & developments

Fickle funding for women-led startups hurts femtech

It is difficult for startups to get off the ground, especially when they are women-focused

Is menstruation a conversational taboo in your culture? Studies show you might have fewer ways to say “period”. (Lina Rigney Tho?rnblom, Flickr)

Menstruation by any other name: The more than 5000 ways we say ‘period’

Know what The Hunt for Red October is? We’re not talking about the Sean Connery movie, we’re talking about your period.

‘Policies are living documents that need to evolve with the changing needs of pupils, school staff, parents and the broader school community.’ (John McCann/M&G)

#FreeToBleed: ‘A pool of blood gushed down my thighs. My white socks were red.’

Shame doesn’t start when menstruation begins. It is built in slow steps.

Magic or malignancy: History has painted menstrual blood with many brushes and in many lights. (Mate Marschalko)
Video

Why linking pads to sex may speak volumes about how we stigmatise menstruation

Anna Dahlqvist reflects on a short history of a messy ‘problem’, or how the world taught you to fear your period.

It may come round every month, but a lot of us still don’t know how our menstrual cycle works, says reproductive health doctor, Tlaleng Mofokeng.

[LISTEN] Clueless about your period? There are consequences

It may come round every month, but a lot of us still don’t know how our menstrual cycle works, says reproductive health doctor, Tlaleng Mofokeng.

South Africa has not imported a notable volume of bananas from Tanzania for more than two decades.
Audio

What do your period and bananas have in common? Find out

In Rwanda, schoolgirls can now buy locally produced, cheaper sanitary towels

Bulelani Ngcuka

Why you shouldn’t be ashamed of your period

When we are socialised to believe something as natural as menstruation is dirty, those who bleed may feel embarrassed about their period.

Bulelani Ngcuka

Coded language contributes to culture of shame about menstruating

Although coded language might make it easier for people to talk about menstruation, it may also reinforce the stigma attached to a natural process.

Moon cups

Why some people may not be over the moon about menstrual cups

Moon cups, reusable pads and period panties are all alternatives to disposable pads and tampons, but they may not work for everyone.

As the conference winds down

Free pads: ‘KZN girls miss three days of school a month because of their periods’

The province is providing free sanitary pads to learners, so what’s stopping a national roll-out?

Find out which departments need to step up to make free pads a reality for people who menstruate.

‘​We need national buy-in to provide sanitary pads to poor women and girl learners’

The Kwazulu-Natal education department has set aside R50-million to fund the distribution of pads to schools in the four lowest quintiles.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder is a condition so severe it was classified in 2013 as a mood disorder in psychology’s diagnostic bible.

When it’s not just PMS: Could your period be affecting your mental health?

Science could be closer to unravelling the riddle of menstruation-related mood disorders

Why are people who menstruate forced to spend at least R40 000 on sanitary products in their lifetime?

Tampon tax: What’s the big deal?

Why are people who menstruate forced to spend at least R40 000 on sanitary products in their lifetime?

Menstrual cups

A guide to ‘alternative menstruation’: Save money and the world during your period

When ‘that time of the month’ comes, you don’t have to reach for disposable tampons or pads.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel leaves at the end of the European Union leaders summit in Valletta

Data does not support the claim that 1 in 10 African girls miss school because of menstruation

A number of small studies have been conducted in African countries on the effect of menstruation on girls’ school attendance.

Menstruation conversation moved forward by community theatre and sewing in the Eastern Cape

The Siyahluma Project Group, formed in Grahamstown, creates their own re-usable pads and works to tackle stigmas surrounding menstruation.

Menstruation has to become something we are not ashamed to discuss.

Menstruation is part of life

Private toilets and water to wash is a basic right for all school-going girls that must be realised

Pull the plug on tampon taxes

Women should not be paying the state for the privilege of having their periods as if they were an indulgent luxury.