Mahanul Omer

She got up, her white kameez from the back was red stained entirely.

She looked so confused.

She had no idea what was happening.

The boy started laughing at her.

The teacher, you know, quickly whisked her away to the bathroom.

But I said, did your mom never tell you?

And she didn't.

That just goes to show even mothers don't speak to their daughters about it.

And what are the consequences for women?

You mentioned there the difference that they're seen as something that upper class women use.

So what are the consequences for women in the poorer regions?

The consequences are extremely dire because firstly, lack of affordability because of this tax leads to lack of access and lack of access then translates them to using alternatives, alternatives such as pieces of cloth that they wash and reuse again and again.

In some areas, there have been reports of women using leaves.

And, you know, and especially right now after the floods that happened, women's health was at the back burner once again.

So this leads to infections.

It leads to reproductive health issues.

Reproductive health issues then lead to a rise in domestic violence because men are families are now upset.

Why isn't she giving us more children?

So it's a whole it's a cycle of, I would say, poverty.

It's a cycle of abuse.