Blessing Taiwo
An advocate of female reproductive health rights, Anike-Ade Funke Treasure has urged the government to create a comprehensive health policy that will be inclusive of menstrual and reproductive health of persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Treasure, who frowned at non-consensual sterilisation of females with disabilities, called on the government to criminalise such act.
She made the strong plea in an interview with our correspondent during a training on sexual and reproductive health rights for adolescent girls held at Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) office in Ikeja, Lagos.
She said, “females with disabilities also menstruate and they have their rights as well.
“Some girls and women with disabilities are sterilised without consent. Drugs or injections are administered to them so that they don’t menstruate. This comes from caregivers most times. There should be a law criminalising that because you are running over the person’s right of procreation. They should have bodily autonomy regardless of their state.”
Funke Treasure, the Convener of Sanitary Pad Media Campaign(SPMC) and host of a menstrual health podcast, My Period Stories, also emphasised the need for instituting sanitary pad banks in schools.
“We want girls and women to have menstrual dignity. We want them to be proud that they are females and not to see menstruation as something to be ashamed of or make them isolated.
“The government should consider pad banks in schools. Some schools cannot afford pads supply. Menstruation is not a reason for absenteeism in school. The girls need to go to school. Our legislature should think more seriously about instituting pad banks.
“Ministry of health, Ministry of education and ministry of women affairs should come together to ensure that there are pad banks in secondary schools particularly in the rural areas,” she stated.
