06/11/2025
Dear AYV/HouseMate,
The issue between Kumzee and Suad over a feminine hygiene misunderstanding may have seemed funny to many, yet it touches on something very real and seriou, the daily struggles and silence surrounding women’s hygiene and feminine education in Sierra Leone.
This moment shouldn’t just be entertainment; it’s a mirror reflecting the hidden realities of many teenage girls and women who face challenges due to a lack of awareness, access, and open conversation. In our society, feminine hygiene, women’s health is still treated as taboo, something we whisper about, if we talk about it at all.
Yet, these are essential products every woman deserves to understand and access, pads, tampons, pantyliners, menstrual cups, and feminine wash. Knowing their uses, benefits, and potential disadvantages is key to maintaining good health and confidence.Unfortunately, too many still lack this knowledge because of: Cultural stigma that discourages open discussion.
Limited access to affordable and safe menstrual products. Poor education about menstrual hygiene and body awareness.Use of unsafe alternatives like rags and leaves, which cause infections.
Missed school days and opportunities due to shame and lack of materials.
Inadequate WASH facilities that make hygiene management difficult.
As someone passionate about sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), I sincerely appeal to AYV, please use this opportunity to educate not only your housemates but also the wider Sierra Leonean public as you have been doing for other issues.Let’s turn this viral moment into a national awareness drive. Let’s teach our pre-teens, teenagers, and women the importance of menstrual health and hygiene. If we didn’t have this knowledge as teenagers, we can at least ensure our daughters do and that will be our legacy.
Let’s move from laughter to learning, and from ignorance to empowerment.
God bless Sierra Leone, and God bless AYV.
A passionate SRHR advocate