The Issue of Period Poverty in Global Black Communities

The issue of 'period poverty' in global Black communities in this article refers to the affordability, access and safety of menstruation products particularly within predominantly  Black and African countries. Menstruation, or periods, is as old as humanity but have been relegated to the last priority in Western cultures and over dominance of Judeo-Abrahamic religions. Some scholars argue that patriarchy in religion affect the way women's health is prioritized in today's religious communities that have survived throughout centuries and continents. However, African countries are heavily impacted by period poverty despite many African societies once having indigenous knowledge of menstruation health medicines, rituals, ceremonies and political necessities preserved for the female populations. The question is, why does an ancient human experience receive little to no priority in surviving ancient cultures? The short answer is capitalism and colonialism. 

• In 2016, 95% of girls in Ghana missed school due to period poverty
• In 2019, nearly a quarter of girls in Uganda between the ages of 12 and 18 dropped out of school when menstruation started
• A 2022 UN report estimated that 1 in 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa miss school during their period

Financial barriers

• In South Africa, 7.7 million (35%) of the 22 million women and young girls who menstruate can't afford sanitary products
• A BBC survey of nine African countries found that women on the minimum wage have to spend between 3-13% of their salary to buy sanitary towels 

In the past decade, new companies have provided safer products i.e., Honey Pot and Organic versions of popular brands from 'Always' as a response to Black women on social media speaking out against unsafe chemical ingredients found in feminine products. Though scientists and the FDA are considered to uphold a safety standard for human consumption, feminine products targeted to women are consistently found to be cancerous, fibroid inducing, chemically damaging and cellular affective. There has become a distrust amongst beauty technicians and their customers, corporations and the consumers  which led to the economic boom in Black women led, beauty products such as Tracee Ellis Ross, Taraji P. Henson, Mielle Organics, Kaleidoscope by BB Judy, Fenty, Cecred and thousands more smaller businesses. Black women addressed these issues collectively as a social media community to amplify the work that has been researched by doctors, scientists, chemists and specified medical specialists globally concerning the unhealthy ingredients found in hair, skin and menstruation products. Period poverty is an overwhelming problem that affects women, nonbinary and trans people from all class economies. 

So what’s the solution?

Menstruation is a natural experience but the government believes their power grants them jurisdiction over human bodily functions. People with periods are affected by  expensive prices, taxes, healthy ingredients, lack of sustainable/reusable products, menstrual leave in corporate employment and inaccessibility to feminine products in public bathrooms just to name a few. Simply, menstruation products should be free and the manufactured economic structure should be restructured entirely as a societal responsibility rather than a capitalized product for corporate greed. 

Menstruation products should prioritize women as doctors, chemist and holistic practitioners who are directly affected by periods by providing gender education programs, curriculums & scholarship opportunities within higher academia. It is also suggested by medical practitioners and women with periods that stricter chemical testing should be reconsidered amongst the FDA agencies worldwide. This also challenges the work culture of factories in 'third world' countries and the technological needs of robotic equipment for developing nations. Most sanitary pad products are made with cotton, which is a major fabric in the export/import global trading industries and subsequently changed the course of wealth ideation for colonial settlers while blocking out generations of Black African enslaved people from that wealth. Racism and colonialism play a large role in the neglect of women's health services but the color line of the world disintegrates all indigenous communities to benefit from growing employment opportunities.

Free products that aren’t provided by government intervention may be considered farfetched in today’s world where abortion rights, LGBTQIA+ human rights and affirmative action have been overturned but there are opportunities for communities to work together without privatizing the product. Menstruation has to be considered a human consideration instead of a burden, in order to amplify the importance of building social systems for feminine health. 

In Ghana, activists protested the government in June 2023 to eliminate taxes on menstruation products and to ultimately lower the prices of sanitary pads which are expensive for the average person regardless of class status. Menstruation products are not seen as an essential good, similar to most countries, which allows for high taxes to occur as economies fluctuate. People’s Dispatch reported that the Socialist Women Movement in Ghana protested in June 2023 against the taxes imposed on menstruation products and the effects it has on women. The cost of sanitary pads can cost 15 to 45 Cedis depending on the Cedi rate or size which is quite expensive when you consider a mango is roughly 5 to 8 cedis, lip gloss ranges 10 to 15 cedis and imported juice Don Simon cartons estimate 20 to 32 cedis. If you translate cedis to dollars, you might feel the prices are low but the average salary of Ghanaian workers from market sellers to bank workers is 2,000 to 4,000 cedis where the dollar is at $1 to roughly 15 cedis as of February 2025. The imbalance of salary wage and expensive city lifestyle or rural environments contribute to the inaccessibility of feminine sanitation products. 

Softcare and Yazz are popular brands in Ghana which seems to be the brand used amongst all class demographics for a variety of sanitation products for babies and menstruation. Softcare Africa provides products in Ghana, Kenya and Ivory Coast in which the website states with a manufacturing plant in Ghana. According to the packaging, the ‘Main Contents’ are listed as: Non-woven cloth, Water Absorbent Paper, PE Porous Film, Polyoletin Film, American Down Cotton Fluff and Japanese Super Absorbent Resin. The sanitary pad products have a fragrance that can be smelled instantly that is reminiscent of cleaning products or diaper fragrances. It’s quite alarming considering consumers are demanding for non-scented menstruation products in the U.S. and U.K. 

In America, sanitation products can range from $10 to $25 based on size, brand and organic/regular which is an expense that the average person will have over 40+ years of their life. Black women business owners have invested into the menstrual care industry by providing what consumers wanted which were organic cotton pads and affordable products i.e., Reflo, Ecoperiod Pad and others owned by women business owners in Ghana. 

Sources: 

1. People's Dispatch

 http://(https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/06/21/ghanaian-activists-reject-high-taxes-on-menstrual-products-in-struggle-to-bleed-with-dignity/)https://peoplesdispatch.org/2023/06/21/ghanaian-activists-reject-high-taxes-on-menstrual-products-in-struggle-to-bleed-with-dignity/
2. Period Poverty: A Neglected Health Issue, National Institute of Health https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10372806/

3. Monarche Retail by Chelsea Vonchazhttps://www.blackenterprise.com/chelsea-vonchaz-is-opening-menarche-the-first-ever-menstrual-care-shop-experience/