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Hadeel Farfour wrote in “Al-Akhbar”:
No matter how marginal the issue of not including sanitary pads in the support basket may seem to many, in light of the problems of crowded life, it remains, despite all attempts to ridicule it, a fatal reflection of masculinity. decision makers in Lebanon, a testament to their lack of sensitivity to the most basic rights of women who are often marginalized under the guise of Priorities.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, and with the consensus of interested doctors and specialists, there is a fundamental link between human dignity and “the management of healthy habits during the menstrual cycle.” Consequently, violating the requirements of this “administration” is a violation of dignity and a violation of human rights, since the inability of girls and women to access toilets and safe means of menstruation is an act that undermines their dignity, given the risks to their sexual and reproductive health derived from neglect of these methods.
Estimates of the Consumer Protection Association indicate an increase in the prices of sanitary napkins due to the economic crisis by around 70% (from 2,750 lira to 6,500 lira for some items, and from 4,750 lira to 11,500 lira for other items. .. and so on), because most of the items are imported while the “national brand”, which is manufactured locally by the company “Sanita”, has also increased in price, due to its dependence on imported raw materials. This “refutes the accusations of the Ministry of Economy, which eluded the demand for support for sanitary napkins by announcing support for raw materials that enter their manufacture internally,” according to the executive director of the Alliance on Women Alia Awada.
Awada warned, in contact with “Al-Akhbar”, that the large increase in the prices of sanitary napkins will definitely affect the sexual health of women “because they are forced to use lower quality brands that can cause venereal diseases, which carries additional health costs. ” This is what the Lebanese Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology says about the effect of personal hygiene on the reproductive and sexual health of women who may suffer from allergies and infections, unless the tools related to menstruation and hygiene are available personal in a way that guarantees their dignity and does not violate their personal space.
All of this means that eliminating subsidies for sanitary napkins and accompanying menstruation supplies amounts to institutionalized violence against girls and women who cannot secure them.
In light of the worsening economic situation and the projected increase in the percentage of poor families who cannot meet the minimum necessities of life, and the increase in poverty among the most vulnerable families, Lebanon will not be far from what is known such as “menstrual poverty”, which is a “special” term in developing countries. Physical barriers prevent low-income women and girls from buying menstrual products. The term describes the financial burden of menstrual “supplies” that include not only sanitary pads and tampons, but also related costs such as pain relievers and underwear. Consequently, ensuring these supplies, according to Iman Al-Shanqeeti, representative of the World Health Organization in Lebanon, “is part of the preservation of women’s health, because a healthy life is an integrated life and it is not divided. “. Al-Shanqeeti highlighted the need to secure basic health supplies, especially in emergencies and epidemics, including the provision of tools that help maintain women’s sexual and reproductive health.
Currently, it does not seem that any of the responsible authorities take this aspect of women’s lives into account, since the distribution of health packages (sanitary napkins and other necessities) is still limited to civil associations “which in turn do not can distribute them monthly, “according to Awada, pointing out the need to reach a long-term solution that begins with supporting the needs of women and reducing taxes on materials imported from abroad” because women who cannot get a package of bread for their families will have the option of making an exchange each month between buying daily sustenance or buying minimum quality sanitary napkins ”, not to mention other supplies such as water and medicines. And painkillers, which constitute an additional burden that increases the suffering that will befall many girls and women.
The Vice President of the Consumer Protection Association, Nada Nehme, noted that the rates of increase in the prices of personal protective supplies sometimes reached 500%, indicating that the prices of toothpaste by 75% and the shampoo by 80%, while price increases for some disinfectants exceeded 78%. He noted that the lack of support for personal hygiene tools means neglecting the health of residents, “How can you support nuts, for example, while neglecting oral and dental care tools?” In this context, the representative of the World Health Organization, Iman Al-Shanqeeti, highlighted the importance of maintaining oral health during the epidemic and emergency period, because “health is an integral whole”. Therefore, any damage to the tools that protect the health of residents means legislation that endangers their health.
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