The Role of Menstruation : a Case Study amongst Women from Nakwa Village in Tanzania

Abstract: This study investigates what role menstruation have for women in the village of Nakwa, Tanzania; how inadequate MHM affects the perception of women; and how menstruation is affecting the gender equality within a marriage in Nakwa. Most women in Nakwa village struggle to maintain high standards of cleanliness regarding their own Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). This is due to many contributing factors relating to ingrained cultural beliefs that menstruation is something shameful and dirty. Most males within the household manage the finances, and menstrual hygiene products are not considered a priority, which further detaches the women from the possession of power over their own MHM. The theoretical framework used in this study is built upon two pillars, the woman as the inferior sex, and menstruation as something dirty and polluting, contributing to menstrual shame. These pillars are constructed upon two academic works; The Second Sex (1953) by Simone De Beauvoir, and Purity and Danger (1984) by Mary Douglas. Substantive previous research is accounted for to support the two pillars. Two weeks of field studies in Nakwa village during February and March 2017 included 23 individual semi-structured interviews and one group interview, with regularly menstruating married women. The results show a linkage between inadequate MHM, devaluation and inferiority of women and gender inequality.