All the checklists that women and girls must observe in their act as social beings can make up a tower and staying tidy during menstruation is among these. But it is not so clear-cut, is it, when trying to cross off this task and that is because of period poverty. It is that dreadful situation that shows menstruating women and girls struggling to afford pricey sanitary pads and tampons that keep vaginal bleeding organised.

This takes us to what can deliver an excruciating moment for a woman out there in public, at the workplace or while at school studying.

It is having a bad menstrual bleeding day, for example, when inner underwear could have exposed their period since there was no solid obstacle to stop blood from getting out in the first place. That obviously shatters confidence and it is understandable that many want to avoid these but only a few can be fully prepared.

So, where can menstruating women get their protection from? There are a few hacks that can aid as many as 37 million Nigerian women of menstruating age who do not have access to sanitary pads due to financial constraints, like some of the ones listed after this.

Giving reusable pads a go means practically having a hand-made sanitary pad made for you. Spot charities and the United Nations missions distribute so much of these around resource-limited environments in the northern parts of Nigeria where there is a greater percentage of women who have the need for pads but cannot afford the charge. The kicker in reusable sanitary pads is that they are washable, therefore longer duration of use and not worrying about the next menstrual bleeding which lasts up to seven days for some women.

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And a recyclable minuscule menstrual cup

It is obviously the age of recyclables and thankfully menstruating women get to benefit through this usage of recyclable menstrual cups which offer protection during a week-long period. Menstrual cups are recommended as safe to use, but this ultimately relies on the attitude of the user. Have they been following the rules?

Emphasis on homemade sanitary pads

It was as if COVID-19 brought out the ingenuity in the entire world population because many found themselves launching new skills during the pandemic and making homemade sanitary pads sewn using ordinary Ankara pieces. To add this to their list of hack demands learning a tailoring skill, of course, although nothing complex. Just enough to control a tailoring machine to put a few readily cut straps together and that can save multiple monthly expenses invested on branded sanitary pads.

To make all these work out, so that there is no problem, women only need to stick to user guidelines that ensure a hygienic onboarding. Advocacy goes a long way in letting more women and girls know about the alternatives to the costly branded sanitary pads they were used to, so share the word.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.