Our Menstrual Health and Dignity Commitment

Following the UN Water Conference, women and feminist organisations made a commitment to continue to advocate for menstrual health and dignity. Read the commitment which we made on behalf of the Women’s Major Group below.

We the women and feminist organizations here at the UN Water Conference, are committing to keep advocating for the development of National Menstrual Health Strategies. Millions of girls do not have safe sanitation at school and are forced to stay home and miss school during their period. Millions of young girls and other menstruators suffer from menstrual-poverty, they have no access to affordable sanitation products. Menstrual health and dignity should be at the center of our Water and Sanitation policies, and we should do away with menstrual taboos and discrimination. Governments must uphold the commitments they have made, in the: Convention to End Discrimination Against all Women and Girls, UN General Assembly Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation, 2030 Agenda, Sustainable Development Goal target 6.2 that state women and girl’s rights to water and sanitation should be ensured. So far only some 40 countries are reporting on menstrual health management in their reporting to the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP). Even fewer governments are working on promoting menstrual health products that are better for the environment and climate, that can be reused and are free of toxic chemicals.

We will advocate to ensure that each menstruator has:

  • Access to sanitation with safe spaces for menstruation in schools including free of charge reusable menstrual products, access to clean water and soap, waste baskets and privacy
  • Ensure that menstruators have access to a basket of choice of affordable menstrual products, including by a zero-VAT on (reusable) menstrual products.
  • Promote local production of a range of reusable menstrual health and hygiene products, including pads and cups, that create jobs and access in particular in rural areas.
  • Ensure that comprehensive sexuality education covers menstruation.
  • Strengthen feminist menstrual movements in region, such as the Pacific Menstrual Health Coalition.

We commit to continue advocating for menstrual health and dignity rights in our countries and regions for the period till 2030, to ensure full implementation of SDG6.2.

Partners

WECF, Netherlands/France/Germany/Georgia
JHR, North-Macedonia
BOONDH, India
DIVA, Fiji
Black Sea Women Club, Ukraine
Milieukontakt, Albania
FANMEX, Mexico
ONGAWA, Spain
WEP, Nigeria/Chad/Burkina Faso/Niger/Togo/Tunisia
WFAC, Cameroon
Reacción Climática, Bolivia
ARUWE, Uganda
FEIM and REDNAC, Argentina
Gender Centru, Moldova
ADESE, Madagascar
Soroptimist International, UK
GAGGA, Netherlands/Global

If you want to know more about our engagement in the UN Water Conference, have a look at the recap article “Women and Water on the World Stage”.