Bright Light Projects in partnership with Women Empowerment and the Family Centre educates young girls on Menstrual hygiene, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights in Buea.
5 min read
In preparation for the commemoration of Menstrual Hygiene Day commemorated annually on 28 May 2023, the Bright Light Projects in partnership with the Women Empowerment and the Family Centre Buea, have organized a successful one-day workshop to empower young girls on how to prevent gender-based violence and educated or sanitized them on Sexual and Reproductive health rights, and menstrual hygiene. The event took place at the premises of the Women Empowerment and the Family Centre in Buea on the 25th of May 2023, the South West Region of Cameroon.
According to the Program Assistant and the representative of the Bright Light Projects in Buea, Mr SHING Praise, the activity was part of the organization’s flagship program known as ‘The Girls Shall Rise’. He further stated that the ongoing flagship program is aimed at providing vulnerable girls with vocational skills and empowering most especially Internally Displaced Girls, commercial sex workers and survivors of gender-based violence with psychological support, counselling and basic education on the prevention of gender-based violence.
The Director of the Women Empowerment and the Family Centre Buea, Madam Eketi Stella, opened the workshop session with a welcome address. She cautioned the participants to be attentive and get all the lessons which will help them leave a better life while also highlighting the importance of the partnership between the Bright Light Projecgs and the Women Empowerment and the Family Centre Buea. She reiterated that the partnership will contribute towards attaining sustainable development goals and thus shapes the lives of many in Cameroon and beyond.
The event was graced with the presence of the regional delegate for the Ministry of Women Empowerment and the family, Mme Sona Ediage Lucia who appreciated the work of and partnership between Bright Light Projects and the Women Empowerment and the Family Centre Buea, geared towards building a better future. While calling on the young girls and women to embrace the opportunities provided to them by Bright Light Projects and Women Empowerment and the Family Centre Buea, she emphasized that the initiative is one of the main ways in ending GBV and upholding their dignity as women.
The representative of Bright Light Projects, Mme Nchinda Regina, while speaking during the event, appreciated Women Empowerment and the Family Centre Buea for their collaboration with Bright Lihgt Projects while calling on the beneficiaries to take their training seriously and make something out for themselves and their communities. She reminded the participants that Bright Light Projects is ready and prepared through collaborative actions and based on its motto, “Rebuilding broken communities” to assist young girls and women in achieving their full potential. She further recapped that as the pathway toward ending GBV and upholding and ensuring the respect of their Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights.
During the presentation on Gender-Based Violence by Ms Ngum, focuses on what GBV is all about, and the types, causes, and effects of gender-based violence on women and girls. In the course of her presentation, she highlighted the causes of GBV, that is; Poverty, traditional and religious believes, power imbalance, armed Conflict and war, and Displacement and so on. She further stated that domestic Violence, Sexual abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault Economic violence, and Socio-cultural violence are form and or types of GBV.
Mme. Sama patience presented on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and Menstrual Heigene. According to her, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights is the ability to control one’s sexual and reproductive health, as outlined by human rights regulations. she outlines some of these rights including; Right to family formation, determination of the number of children, timing, and spacing, freedom from sexual violence and coercion, the right to privacy, right to choose friends, spouses, and sex partners based on preferences, choice, and consent, the right to say yes or no to sex. In relation to menstruation, she discussed what menstruation is. According to her it is a woman or girl’s monthly bleeding from the uterus often called period. It is a naturally healthy body function necessary for reproduction. It is when blood and tissue from the uterus come out from your vagina. She further enlightened participants on how to calculate the menstrual cycle. She thus ended with various habits to inculcate in a bid to maintain proper menstrual hygiene. She advised that to maintain menstrual hygiene, you need to; take a bath once or twice daily, Change and wash inner wears at least once daily, wash the vagina with clean water, to prevent bacteria transmission and also not to use soaps in cleaning their vagina because the vagina is a self-cleaning organ. According to her, cleaning with soap can hamper the natural process leading to infection and bacterial growth. She also adviced that the girls should be able to change pad every 4-6hours to avoid irritation, rashes or urinary tract infection and that before throwing up pads, it is good to wrap them up properly so as not to spread bacteria and infections, and to wash their hands properly after touching or throwing pad because most likely you must have touched the stained area.
Mme. Hannah Etombi presented on the topic, “Good practice guidance for girls and women on managing their menstrual period.” The objective of the presentation was to educate participants on best practices associated with menstrual hygiene and proper ways to manage their menstruation. Some of the good practices for Menstrual Hygiene, highlighted by the presenter, include amongst many others focus on; How to capture blood, How to dispose of cloth, pads, and cotton, How to keep yourself clean during the period, How to manage the stomach pain from your period. She also highlighted the challenges young girls and women face during menstruation like Lack of knowledge, guidance, and support, and lack Sanitary materials and supplies. The presentation was also accompanied by demonstrations on pad disposal, proper body cleaning, and proper behaviour during menstruation.
The event ended with a closing remark from the director of the Women Empowerment and the Family Centre and the distribution of sanitary pads to all participants by BLP staff and the staff of the Women Empowerment and the Family Centre.
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
