Youth SRHR and Choices Today

Edith  Esinam   Asamani  is a young female  Ghana ian  who grew up in a  peri -urban slum and has reproductive health and gender issues at the core of her heart. She has been an SRHR advocate since 2012 and counting. She grew up in a community where it was a norm for adolescent girls as young as 11 or 12 to get pregnant. She knew this wasn’t right and really wanted to do something about it. Her passion and anger are what has driven her all these years to speak out and act on these challenges. Miss  Asamani  has had over a decade’s  experience in volunteerism, children,  you th, and women’s rights advocacy.  Edith is passionate about changing the world with and for young people and women. She founded KnitWeb Foundation which has initiated a virtual support network for persons suffering various forms of depression and also has as part of its flagship program, a mentorship initiative for girls and young women.  She has ga...

Being the only girl raised alongside six other children, I know how it feels to lack very essential things like sanitary towels. Let’s say I come from a home wher e eating once a day  was a blessing  and that’s why my heart went out to this yo u ng girl asking for money  to get herself a sanitary towel.  Coincidentally, she is also the only girl child amongst seven children and lives in  a community where everyone had not less than five children.  According to this new f riend of mine, her parents along with other adults in the community believed children are as a blessing and  that they have been told  to  “multiply the earth like the sand at the sea  shore ”,  thus gave birth  to  as many as they could. This  young girl was  crying and blaming her parents  for how  unke pt  and frustrated  she was because they could not afford their basic needs and her  sibling’s  age...

World Population Day isn't just about Population (number of people); It has been celebrated on the 11th of July every year since 1989 to acknowledge and focus on how far we have come as a people; the good and the bad.  Population Day is celebrated to portray the state, impact, urgency and the importance of population issues: ●        Family planning  ●        Gender equality  ●        Poverty  ●        Maternal health  ●        Human rights World Population Day highlights the need in making the world, our regions, countries, states and communities safer and comfortable for all to live in irrespective of age, gender, culture, race, religion, etc. As Young people, let’s strive for a world free of Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV) such as rape,and other injustices by practicing empat...

There’s a lot of stigma associated with menstruation and this can be seen in some of the nicknames or euphemisms used for it. Although some of these euphemisms are not derogatory and are in common use, they still make “menstruation” sound like a taboo and should be discouraged because they reinforce the notion that menstruation is connected to shame. Moving forward, we may want to call a spade a spade , and menstruation,menstruation. Examples of such euphemisms include;   📌 “periods” 📌”Aunty Flo” 📌 “Red 📌 “It’s that time of the month” 📌”w’abu ne nsa” - she has broken her hands 📌 “edo le afeme” -she has stepped/gone out of the house  📌 “ekp) leti” -she has seen the moon Globally, the stigma of menstruation is perpetrated by cultural taboos, discrimination, lack of education, silence and “period” poverty (the inability to access/afford feminine hygiene products) We believe these recommendations will go a long way to smash menstruation stigma; 📌 Famil...

Despite being a completely natural function, menstruation has always been met with the most ridiculous of myths and this is the reason for the negative effects of the perception of menstruation on girls and women. The shame and misunderstanding surrounding menstruation has been deep-rooted in social and cultural norms.Today, we highlight a few of these myths as well as counter them with facts. Here are a few of the myths; 📌 Menstrual blood is a bad omen and can be used for rituals against the menstruating woman. 📌 Menstruating women are impure. 📌 Menstrual blood can weaken both men’s productive and reproductive abilities. 📌 Menstruation is a disease. Here are the facts of menstruation! 📌 Periods are a perfectly normal part of a girl or woman’s physiology. 📌 Menstruation is your body’s way of getting ready to  carry pregnancies. Without your period, you’re likely going to be unable to give birth. 📌 Menstruation is not a disease. It is part of the normal funct...

Are you aware that? 📌 66% of girls in public schools do not use their school toilet facilities when in their periods either due to lack of privacy, lack of water to flush, dirty environment or fear of falling through squat holes.  📌 7% of girls in private schools are unable to use their school toilet facilities either due to sight of used sanitary pads all around, toilet not frequently flushed and the stench from the washroom. 📌 Most girls send their used sanitary pads home because of lack of proper disposal facilities in the schools and the fear that their used pads will be used for rituals. 🔍In a nutshell, there are inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene(WASH) facilities in schools accounting for absenteeism, low self esteem and loss of concentration due to fear of period accidents and poor menstrual hygiene. As we approach Menstrual Hygiene Day,2020(themed; It’s time for Action), the Youth Advisory Board of Marie Stopes Ghana acknowledges that there is the ur...

Did you know that? 📌 Between 59 and 90 percent of girls feel shameful about menstruation  [self-esteem]             📌Most girls are unable to pay attention in class or even participate in activities because of pain or anxiety about staining themselves [concentration] 📌 95 percent of girls sometimes miss school due to menstruation. [ absenteeism] 📌 some girls have to change schools or completely drop out of school because of the shame associated with period accidents especially when their mates make fun of them. [drop-out] 🔍 Essentially, all these girls lose out on contributing their maximum to their economies. Unfortunately, the girl reading this post may have experienced either one or more of low self esteem, loss of concentration or absenteeism because of her period at a point in her life. As we approach Menstrual Hygiene Day,2020(themed; It’s time for Action), the Youth Advisory Board of Marie Stopes Ghana acknowledges th...