The Girls Clubs program organized a reflective meeting where 30 girls (12 from Pungue Norte and 18 scholarship recipients) got together in commemoration of “Menstrual Hygiene Day” in Chitengo. This year the celebrations were focused on awareness raising among girls about menstruation at school and in the community, and how to manage the barriers they face at this stage. These are important discussions to reflect on the meaning of the first menstruation as part of the transformation of the girl’s body. Focusing on this year’s motto ˝Menstruation Without Taboosˮ the girls debated the various taboos they face in their communities and in the school and how these can be broken. They also used the opportunity to exchange experiences, especially about their day-to-day life and what difficulties they encounter during menstruation and solutions.
At the end of the date, the girls made a commitment to talk to 3 other girls in their communities on how to better manage their menstrual periods and pledged to speak with an adult in the community (Father, Mother, Aunt, Brother, Godmother, Teacher) about menstruation and any other changes that occur in your body this way breaking the taboos.