Two Different Realities in Uganda
Like in other parts of the world, periods are still a taboo subject in Uganda. No matter where you are in the world, getting your period affects your life in one way or another. However, it’s your circumstances that often end up determining how you feel, manage and talk about it.
What’s it like to menstruate while living in a refugee settlement on the border of South Sudan and Uganda? Or while growing up in a community where having babies equal status, thus periods are deemed ‘wasteful’?
In this story, we get a glimpse into the life of two teenage girls living in two different parts of Uganda: the Imvepi Refugee Settlement and the Lonyilik village. They share their experiences with periods, taboos and their dreams for the future.
Imvepi Refugee Settlement
Homesick
More than 900.000 refugees escaping the civil war in South Sudan have fled into Uganda in the past years. As a result, several refugee settlements have sprung up. The traumatic loss of their home, livelihood, and family are not the only challenges the women in exile face: once every month they face a number of challenges related to their period.
The striking beauty of the landscape surrounding the settlement contradicts the harsh realities of life. Many of the inhabitants are teenagers who travelled by themselves or are separated from their families.
This is the case of 16-year-old Okodo Sarah, who arrived with her aunt and four siblings, but doesn’t know where her parents are. Growing up in Yei in South Sudan, she fled the civil war at the age of 14 and travelled for three months before reaching Imvepi, where she has lived for two years now.
“Life is tougher in Imvepi, I miss South Sudan and my parents very much, but there is an openness and higher level of education here, also less menstrual prejudice because of the work by NGOs”
At Imvepi, refugees are given access to public health services and receive a plot of land on which they can build a temporary home for themselves. UN food programs distribute water and basic food supplies, while NGOs provide educational campaigns on health, hygiene, and reproduction.
When Okodo first got her period, she was well prepared. Her friends and mother had openly told her about it. Period products were easily available in her hometown, but since arriving to Impevi her options have been very limited. Pads are sold in the local market, but she does not have an income and must sell her supply of rice to pay for them. When she doesn’t have money to buy pads, she uses pieces of cloth instead.
Okodo is eager to return to her home in South Sudan as soon as it’s safe, so she can start studying to be a nurse. For the time being, she isn’t able to afford the education though.
A new normal
Fatyma Mary is 32 years old and works for one of the local NGOs in the settlement – helping to ensure people there have access to safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities. She is a refugee herself and has been in Imvepi for a couple of years now.
Her and her co-worker, Kanya, recall the old rituals and traditions linked to periods in South Sudan: it was custom to dig a hole in the ground, sit above it and bleed into it. They would then cover it up with soil. According to local superstition, you could become infertile if you stepped in someone else’s menstrual blood. Some still bury their used pads for the same reason.
Lonyilik village
Strength in numbers
Lonyilik village is a small village only a couple of hours from Moroto, the capital of Uganda. The village consists of 280 adults; due to so many babies being born there, they only count the adults. There, it’s prestigious to have multiple wives and as many kids as possible – the more children a man has, the more powerful and strong he is in the community.
That’s also why young girls who get their period for the first time are celebrated – they’re finally fertile. However, from then on, periods are no longer cause for celebration: every time a girl menstruates instead of getting pregnant, it’s seen as a ‘waste of babies’.
Making do
Five years ago, while working in the field with the cows, Amodoi Immaculate Narit saw blood trickling down her legs.
Her mother then told her about menstruation for the first time, explaining it was something normal, and showed her how to fold a rag into a homemade menstrual pad.
There are no brand name menstrual products in the village, so the women mostly use leftover fabric from traditional dresses that they wash after using. Besides offering little protection and absorption, moisture and bacteria can stay in the fabric, which makes it a potential breeding ground for infections. When they run out of spare rags, they don’t use anything and just wash off the best they can.
“I thought something had happened to my stomach and I was going to die”
“Menstruation is considered dirty, so it’s better to be pregnant than to be on your period”
Work-life imbalance
Women do the heavy lifting in the village – they collect and prepare the food, maintain the houses and earn money, if there is any to be earned. Men, on the other hand, play games, hang out and drink.
At the age of 20, Narit gave birth to her first child, a boy named Loru. Having never went to school, her parents wanted her to marry so they could receive the customary dowry of 30 cows. Because maternity leave is unheard of in Lonyilik, when asked about returning to work after giving birth, Narit frowned: ‘’Right away. What else could I do?’’
In this region of Uganda, the only time women are not allowed to do any domestic work is when they’re menstruating. In those times, they depend on other women in the community to help them out. While on their period, women are also not allowed to eat from the same plate as everyone else, nor can they eat together. This often results in them having to eat their meals outside.
Rituals and traditions are usually passed down from generation to generation. The Lonyilik village is no exception when it comes to period-related customs: older women share them with younger girls when they first start menstruating. However, even though men rarely talk about it (directly), people’s attitudes towards menstrual taboos are slowly changing. Despite this, Narit restlessly says “I wish change would come quickly, I want my children to go to school and be free of the old customs.”
Local NGOs are now leading educational workshops for villagers to learn about periods, menstrual health, hygiene and family planning. When asked about how many children Narit wants, she laughs and says: ‘’I don’t know, I’ll just continue.’’
Thank you
We would like to thank Anna, Nancy and Shamirah and the rest of the team at WoMena for connecting us with the wonderful people we were lucky to meet in the Imvepi Refugee Settlement, the Lonyilik village and the Buikwe district – a big thank you to them also. Lastly, we’d like to extend our gratitude to Okodo, Fatyma and Narit for sharing their personal experiences with us.
Stay up to date and get more behind-the-scenes pictures, videos and stories.
Be part of the project
Taboo Global Periods is a community-driven project. If you are interested in telling your story, we want to hear from you: show us how periods impact you or those around you.
Text, pictures and videos are welcome.
Two Different Realities in Uganda
Like in other parts of the world, periods are still a taboo subject in Uganda. No matter where you are in the world, getting your period affects your life in one way or another. However, it’s your circumstances that often end up determining how you feel, manage and talk about it.
What’s it like to menstruate while living in a refugee settlement on the border of South Sudan and Uganda? Or while growing up in a community where having babies equal status, thus periods are deemed ‘wasteful’?
In this story, we get a glimpse into the life of two teenage girls living in two different parts of Uganda: the Imvepi Refugee Settlement and the Lonyilik village. They share their experiences with periods, taboos and their dreams for the future.
Imvepi Refugee Settlement
Homesick
More than 900.000 refugees escaping the civil war in South Sudan have fled into Uganda in the past years. As a result, several refugee settlements have sprung up. The traumatic loss of their home, livelihood, and family are not the only challenges the women in exile face: once every month they face a number of challenges related to their period.
The striking beauty of the landscape surrounding the settlement contradicts the harsh realities of life. Many of the inhabitants are teenagers who travelled by themselves or are separated from their families.
This is the case of 16-year-old Okodo Sarah, who arrived with her aunt and four siblings, but doesn’t know where her parents are. Growing up in Yei in South Sudan, she fled the civil war at the age of 14 and travelled for three months before reaching Imvepi, where she has lived for two years now.
“Life is tougher in Imvepi, I miss South Sudan and my parents very much, but there is an openness and higher level of education here, also less menstrual prejudice because of the work by NGOs”
When Okodo first got her period, she was well prepared. Her friends and mother had openly told her about it. Period products were easily available in her hometown, but since arriving to Impevi her options have been very limited. Pads are sold in the local market, but she does not have an income and must sell her supply of rice to pay for them. When she doesn’t have money to buy pads, she uses pieces of cloth instead.
Okodo is eager to return to her home in South Sudan as soon as it’s safe, so she can start studying to be a nurse. For the time being, she isn’t able to afford the education though.
A new normal
Fatyma Mary is 32 years old and works for one of the local NGOs in the settlement – helping to ensure people there have access to safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities. She is a refugee herself and has been in Imvepi for a couple of years now.
Her and her co-worker, Kanya, recall the old rituals and traditions linked to periods in South Sudan: it was custom to dig a hole in the ground, sit above it and bleed into it. They would then cover it up with soil. According to local superstition, you could become infertile if you stepped in someone else’s menstrual blood. Some still bury their used pads for the same reason.
Lonyilik village
Strength in numbers
Lonyilik village is a small village only a couple of hours from Moroto, the capital of Uganda. The village consists of 280 adults; due to so many babies being born there, they only count the adults. There, it’s prestigious to have multiple wives and as many kids as possible – the more children a man has, the more powerful and strong he is in the community.
That’s also why young girls who get their period for the first time are celebrated – they’re finally fertile. However, from then on, periods are no longer cause for celebration: every time a girl menstruates instead of getting pregnant, it’s seen as a ‘waste of babies’.
Making do
Five years ago, while working in the field with the cows, Amodoi Immaculate Narit saw blood trickling down her legs.
Her mother then told her about menstruation for the first time, explaining it was something normal, and showed her how to fold a rag into a homemade menstrual pad.
There are no brand name menstrual products in the village, so the women mostly use leftover fabric from traditional dresses that they wash after using. Besides offering little protection and absorption, moisture and bacteria can stay in the fabric, which makes it a potential breeding ground for infections. When they run out of spare rags, they don’t use anything and just wash off the best they can.
“I thought something had happened to my stomach and I was going to die”
Work-life imbalance
Women do the heavy lifting in the village – they collect and prepare the food, maintain the houses and earn money, if there is any to be earned. Men, on the other hand, play games, hang out and drink.
At the age of 20, Narit gave birth to her first child, a boy named Loru. Having never went to school, her parents wanted her to marry so they could receive the customary dowry of 30 cows. Because maternity leave is unheard of in Lonyilik, when asked about returning to work after giving birth, Narit frowned: ‘’Right away. What else could I do?’’
“Menstruation is considered dirty, so it’s better to be pregnant than to be on your period”
In this region of Uganda, the only time women are not allowed to do any domestic work is when they’re menstruating. In those times, they depend on other women in the community to help them out. While on their period, women are also not allowed to eat from the same plate as everyone else, nor can they eat together. This often results in them having to eat their meals outside.
Rituals and traditions are usually passed down from generation to generation. The Lonyilik village is no exception when it comes to period-related customs: older women share them with younger girls when they first start menstruating. However, even though men rarely talk about it (directly), people’s attitudes towards menstrual taboos are slowly changing. Despite this, Narit restlessly says “I wish change would come quickly, I want my children to go to school and be free of the old customs.”
Local NGOs are now leading educational workshops for villagers to learn about periods, menstrual health, hygiene and family planning. When asked about how many children Narit wants, she laughs and says: ‘’I don’t know, I’ll just continue.’’
Thank you
We would like to thank Anna, Nancy and Shamirah and the rest of the team at WoMena for connecting us with the wonderful people we were lucky to meet in the Imvepi Refugee Settlement, the Lonyilik village and the Buikwe district – a big thank you to them also. Lastly, we’d like to extend our gratitude to Okodo, Fatyma and Narit for sharing their personal experiences with us.
Stay up to date and get more behind-the-scenes pictures, videos and stories.
Be part of the project
Taboo Global Periods is a community-driven project. If you are interested in telling your story, we want to hear from you.
Show us how periods impact you or those around you.
Text, pictures and videos are welcome..