How women around the world manage their periods Women from Kapyanga sharing menstrual hygiene experiences, Malawi

‘If married, our husband is not supposed to see any piece of cloth that we are using, so the rags are carefully secured in a small plastic bag which we hang on a top corner close to the ceiling in the bedroom; this we do to ensure that our men do not have any close contact with that bag, even when we are not on our period. Depending on the menstruation flow, we can change the rags between three to five times a day. At night, we need to be extra careful not to stain the beddings, so sometimes we need to go out and change up to every three hours. Travelling long distances when we are on our period is a challenge. The flow during menstruation is intensified as opposed to when you are at home. As we are required to change and clean the nyanda once it is soaked, we have to stop and use a nearby river or shallow well to clean ourselves. This is not easy as most rivers have children playing around the banks. We make sure we have packed at least three to five pieces,’ said Mercy, 44

WaterAid/ Dennis Lupenga