( Menstrualno siromaštvo)                                  

Neko je rekao da je žena  lepša ako ima kućno vaspitanje, pristojnost i dozu skromnosti. I baš takve pristojne i skromne, veštinom mađioničara, vekovima upravljaju svojim potrebama ističući u prvi plan baš one neophodne ili u tom trenutku važne a neke druge guraju u stranu, čekajući neko bolje životno vreme.I tako neko vreme ili trend iznese u prvi plan poneku žensku potrebu a već neko sledeće vreme je zaboravi čak iako su u pitanju osnovne fiziološke potrebe. Najlepša osobenost ženskog tela je što na svet donosi ili  rađa novi život. Ali i baš ta osobenost ima i svoje potrebe.

Menstrualni ciklus je ciklus bioloških promena koje se dešavaju u reproduktivnom sistemu žene ili devojčice kako bi se njeno telo pripremilo za potencijalnu trudnoću. Deo tog ciklusa je i menstruacija. Promene pokreću hormoni, koji regulišu prirodni hemijski proces u telu. Ovaj proces počinje kada devojčica dostigne pubertet i nastavlja se sve dok ne dostigne kraj svoje plodnosti, period poznat kao menopauza.

Iako je to ciklus koji se mesečno ponavlja i otprilike kod svake žene traje ukupno oko osam godina, nikada se javno niko nije bavio tim pitanjem ili potrebom svake žene. Naprotiv, zdravstvena pitanja koja se odnose na telo žena uključujući ne samo menstruaciju već i trudnoću, porođaj i menopauzu često su zanemarena od strane donosilaca odluka, kreatora politike, medicinskih ustanova pa i prosvetnih radnika. Rezultat toga je da žene i devojke često malo znaju o promenama koje će doživeti u svom životnom veku. Mnoge devojke saznaju za menstruaciju tek kada dođu u pubertet, i dešava se da im to bude zastrašujuće i zbunjujuće iskustvo.

Medjutim,u poslednjih nekoliko godina bavljenje/upravljanje menstrualnim zdravljem i higijenom postalo je tema razgovora među zagovornicima ženskih tema, stručnjacima za obrazovanje, humanitarnim stručnjacima, stručnjacima za ljudska prava i globalni razvoj. Tako su se ženski problemi u bavljenju menstralnim ciklusom sakupili u pojam menstrualno siromaštvo.

Šta je menstrualno siromaštvo? Menstrualno siromaštvo opisuje borbu sa kojom se mnoge žene i devojke sa niskim primanjima suočavaju dok pokušavaju da priušte proizvode za menstruaciju. Termin se takođe odnosi na povećanu ekonomsku ranjivost sa kojom se žene i devojke suočavaju zbog finansijskog tereta koji donosi nabavka svih proizvoda i stvaranje uslova neophodnih za normalno odvijanje menstrualnog ciklusa. Termin menstrualno siromaštvo relativno je nov u medicinskoj literaturi, dok se o upravljanju menstrualnom higijenom  raspravljalo  decenijama u kontekstu rodnog jaza u obrazovanju za mlade koji žive u zemljama sa niskim i srednjim prihodima.

U Hrvatskoj je krajem 2020.godine, sprovedeno istraživanje koje je došlo do rezultata da otprilike  10 odsto žena ne može sebi uopšte priuštiti uloške, dok više od 10 odsto žena Hrvatske nije u mogućnosti da kupi dovoljno uložaka kako bi ih redovno menjale, trećina njih  je primorana  da štedi na ulošcima jer im je cena previsoka. Deo njih zbog visokih cena  primoran je da kupuje manje kvalitetne menstrualne proizvode.

Ne postoji javni podatak da je ovakvo istraživanje rađeno u Srbiji. Ali ako se pozovemo na posredne pokazatelje  kao što su stopa rizika od siromaštva koja je po Republičkom zavodu za statistiku u 2019. godini iznosila 23,2 odsto, i ako tome dodamo podatak koji je saopštio *Evropski komitet za socijalna prava“ da iznos novčane socijalne pomoći u Srbiji nije dovoljan za pokrivanje osnovnih troškova kao što su kirija za socijalno stanovanje i računi za komunalije jer iznosi oko 9.000,00 din nesumnjivo shvatamo da su i zaposlene žene i one koje primaju socijalnu pomoć prepuštene same sebi na snalaženje za zadovoljenje osnovne potrebe.

Koliko je problem nevidljiv govori i to da ćete ne tako retko videti novinske tekstove da društveno odgovorne kompanije doniraju porodilištima potrepštine za mamu i bebu ali donatori  mesto menstrualnih potrepština biraju da poklone spavaćice, isto tako vrlo često  doniraju pomoć samo bebama. 

I u svetu je ovo pitanje u začetku,  ali civilna  društva, udruženja, humanitarni fondovi, društveno odgovorne kompanije bolje su organizovani i brže odgovaraju na zahteve pa tako zajedno sa vladama svojih zemalja učestvuju u distribuciji higijenskih proizvoda i edukaciji žena i devojaka, ni  samoinicijativno angažovanje pojedinaca nije retkost. Ilustrativan je primer Holandije  gde na određenim javnim mestima namenjenim za razmenu knjiga nađete i po koji paket higijenskih uložaka. Dok su na Novom Zelandu besplatni ulošci dostupni u svim školama, korak dalje napravila je Škotska, prva zemlja na svetu koja je proizvode za menstrualni ciklus  zakonom odredila kao besplatne.

U Srbiji, spremnost da ukaže na ovaj problem, pokazala je upravo jedna od ugroženijih kategorija u našem društvu, izdržavana lica, studentkinje. Tako je oktobra prošle godine grupa studentkinja Filozofskog fakulteta u Novom Sadu uspela da svojim koleginicama obezbedi besplatne uloške. Ovo je omogućeno zahvaljujući inicijativi studentkinja ovog fakulteta koje su u okviru konkursa ’’Šta nam teško’’ prijavile projekat ’’Ženska inicijativa’’, kojim je omogućena ova jednokratna pomoć. Nažalost,  za ovaj problem koji dotiče polovinu naše populacije, dobile su vrlo malo medijskog interesovanja.

I zaista, šta nam je teško da zajedno,  svuda i na svakom mestu, u svakodnevnom komšijskom razgovoru, u Narodnoj skupštini, u medijima, budemo zagovornici  pitanja politike koja omogućava širok pristup menstrualnim proizvodima i pomaže u pokrivanju troškova njihove distribucije i što veće dostupnosti svih potrepština  za menstrualnu higijenu i obrazovanje, ženama i devojkama u svim socijalnim grupama, i tako stvorimo sistem u kojem će žene biti zbrinute bez potrebe da moraju da pitaju za pomoć?

*^{Evropski komitet  za  socijalna prava,, Zaključci 2017 – Srbija –Član 13. stav 1. – Adekvatna pomoć za svaku osobu kojoj je potrebna, dostupno na: http://hudoc.esc.coe.int/eng?i=2017/def/SRB/13/1/EN. Ovaj iznos se  od  tada nije značajno promenio (2017. је bio око 71 €, а 2019. otprilike 78 €).}

    Menstrual Poverty

Someone once said that a woman is more beautiful if she has good manners, decency, and a touch of modesty. And it is precisely these decent and modest women who, with the skill of a magician, have managed their needs for centuries, putting the essential or currently important ones in the foreground while pushing others aside, waiting for a better time in life. And so, for a while, a trend brings certain female needs to the forefront, only to be forgotten later, even if they are basic physiological needs. The most beautiful characteristic of a woman’s body is that it brings new life into the world. But this characteristic also comes with its own needs.

The menstrual cycle is a cycle of biological changes that occur in a woman’s or girl’s reproductive system to prepare her body for a potential pregnancy. A part of this cycle is menstruation. The changes are triggered by hormones, which regulate natural chemical processes in the body. This process begins when a girl reaches puberty and continues until she reaches the end of her fertility, a period known as menopause.

Although it is a cycle that repeats monthly and, in total, lasts about eight years for each woman, this issue or need has never been publicly addressed. On the contrary, health issues related to women’s bodies, including not just menstruation but also pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause, are often neglected by decision-makers, policymakers, medical institutions, and even educators. As a result, women and girls often know little about the changes they will experience throughout their lives. Many girls only learn about menstruation when they reach puberty, and it can be a frightening and confusing experience for them.

However, in recent years, the management of menstrual health and hygiene has become a topic of discussion among advocates of women’s issues, education experts, humanitarian professionals, human rights experts, and global development specialists. Thus, the challenges women face in managing their menstrual cycles have been encapsulated in the term „menstrual poverty.“

What is menstrual poverty? Menstrual poverty describes the struggle many low-income women and girls face when trying to afford menstrual products. The term also refers to the increased economic vulnerability that women and girls experience due to the financial burden of acquiring all the necessary products and creating the conditions required for the normal course of the menstrual cycle. The term „menstrual poverty“ is relatively new in medical literature, while menstrual hygiene management has been discussed for decades in the context of the gender gap in education for young people living in low- and middle-income countries.

At the end of 2020, a study conducted in Croatia found that approximately 10 percent of women cannot afford sanitary pads at all, while more than 10 percent of women in Croatia cannot buy enough pads to change them regularly. A third of them are forced to save on pads because the price is too high. Some are forced to buy lower-quality menstrual products due to the high costs.

There is no public data indicating that such a study has been conducted in Serbia. However, if we refer to indirect indicators, such as the at-risk-of-poverty rate, which, according to the Republic Statistical Office, was 23.2 percent in 2019, and if we add the information provided by the *European Committee of Social Rights* that the amount of financial social assistance in Serbia is insufficient to cover basic costs such as rent for social housing and utility bills, amounting to around 9,000 dinars, we undoubtedly realize that both employed women and those receiving social assistance are left to fend for themselves in meeting their basic needs.

The extent of the problem’s invisibility is evident from the fact that it is not uncommon to see news articles about socially responsible companies donating essentials for mothers and babies to maternity wards, but instead of donating menstrual products, donors often choose to give nightgowns, and frequently donate help exclusively to babies.

Even in the world, this issue is still in its early stages, but civil societies, associations, humanitarian funds, and socially responsible companies are better organized and respond more quickly to demands. Together with their governments, they participate in the distribution of hygiene products and the education of women and girls, and self-initiated individual efforts are not uncommon either. An illustrative example is the Netherlands, where you can find packages of sanitary pads at certain public places designated for book exchanges. In New Zealand, free pads are available in all schools, while Scotland has taken it a step further, becoming the first country in the world to legally mandate that menstrual products be free of charge.

In Serbia, the readiness to highlight this issue has been demonstrated by one of the more vulnerable groups in our society—students. In October of last year, a group of female students from the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad succeeded in providing free sanitary pads for their colleagues. This was made possible thanks to the initiative of these students, who submitted a project titled „Women’s Initiative“ under the „What’s Hard for Us?“ competition, enabling this one-time aid. Unfortunately, this issue, which affects half of our population, received very little media attention.

Indeed, why is it so hard for us to come together, everywhere and at all times—in everyday conversations with neighbors, in the National Assembly, in the media—to advocate for policies that ensure broad access to menstrual products and help cover the costs of their distribution, making menstrual hygiene products and education more accessible to women and girls across all social groups? Why not create a system in which women are cared for without having to ask for help?

*European Committee of Social Rights, Conclusions 2017 – Serbia – Article 13, Paragraph 1 – Adequate Assistance for Every Person in Need, available at: [http://hudoc.esc.coe.int/eng?i=2017/def/SRB/13/1/EN](http://hudoc.esc.coe.int/eng?i=2017/def/SRB/13/1/EN). This amount has not significantly changed since then (in 2017 it was around €71, and in 2019 approximately €78).