In the streets of Dhaka, fifteen-year-old Aleya (pseudonym) recently went to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with painful sores in her genital area. The doctor told her the infection was caused by using dirty rags during menstruation. “I know about sanitary pads,” she said quietly, “but when we don’t even have enough money for food, what can I do?”
Like Aleya, thousands of street girls across the city use old, discarded cloth to manage their periods. Some even reuse used sanitary pads. “If I can’t find new cloth, I wash the old ones at night and wear them again in the morning,” said sixteen-year-old Ruku, who lives near Kamalapur Railway Station. “Sometimes they don’t dry, and I still have to use them.”
A 2024 UNICEF study found that over 3.4 million children live on the streets of Bangladesh, 18% of them girls. A Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics survey showed that only 17.4% of women and girls use sanitary pads—most still depend on unhygienic cloths, often without soap, water, or privacy. For girls on the streets, the struggle is worse: every month brings fear, pain, and shame.
Doctors warn that such practices lead to severe infections and long-term complications. “These infections can cause chronic pain, infertility, or even cancer,” said Dr. Rahima Sultana of Dhaka Medical College. “Street girls need access to clean water, hygiene kits, and menstrual education.”
The government and NGOs have promised to distribute free sanitary pads to street girls, but most programs are short-term. “We are working with NGOs to make this sustainable,” said Saraowat Mehzabeen of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs.
For girls like Aleya, menstruation is not just a biological reality—it is a monthly test of survival. What should be a private, natural process becomes a public struggle for dignity in a city that too often looks away.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
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