Bloody Funds and their Fleeting Trends

For decades, the process of menstruation has been exploited globally by a neoliberal system that profits from commodifying essential needs. The menstrual products industry, which has supported the Menstrual Hygiene Day organised by WASH United for the past 10 years, has long operated with a lack of transparency about product composition. It has shown little investment in user comfort while feeding into the stigma around periods. Feminist journalists and activists have drawn attention to the invisibilisation of menstrual blood and of the overall menstrual experience in advertisements, with blue or purple liquid used to illustrate period blood on flowery pads, and protagonists dressed in full white practicing extreme sports. And it was not only that menstrual blood was visually erased; alarmingly, in 2023, a team of scientists revealed that the absorbency of period products had been tested with saline solution instead of actual menstrual blood, highlighting a profound disconnect between product development and the health, and comfort of menstruating individuals.

The taboo around menstrual experiences bears heavy consequences excluding this topic from public and political conversation. The effects of this silencing are particularly pronounced in Lebanon, where compounded crises – including an unprecedented financial collapse – a neoliberal state and NGOi-sed social services magnify the individualisation and de-politicisation of menstrual related issues.

A menstrual justice approach to the issue of period poverty – often understood as limited to the lack of access to basic period products - calls for a holistic comprehension that goes beyond a quick fix, i.e. disposable pads distribution. This perspective considers various factors irrespective of an individual’s economic situation, gender identity, legal status, educational background, privileges and disability: access to diverse product options to meet everyone's needs throughout their cycle, access to clean and private bathrooms, access to the education and research necessary for adequate menstrual healthcare, and access to a supportive environment where one can discuss menstruation without judgment. Improvement in all of these areas has been hindered by institutional funding disparities for gendered issues like menstruation.

Menstrual justice at a time of trending ‘period poverty’ projects

Over the past four years, Lebanon has been beset by a financial crisis that has seen a drastic worsening of pre-existing issues such as abject poverty, food insecurity, attrition from schools, period poverty, and lack of access to water. Amidst these other prevailing concerns, the issue of period poverty gained visibility when the government released a list of subsidised essential goods to curb hyperinflation: razors were included, but menstrual products were not. Independent journalists pointed out how patriarchal double standards and gender-blindness had marginalised the population’s menstruating bodies.

Since 2020, numerous initiatives addressing period poverty have appeared, spearheaded by newly formed groups and established NGOs and INGOs. Following the Beirut port blast on August 4th, 2020, efforts intensified to collect period products and raise funds. In the absence of structural solutions to the economic and financial collapse, the NGO sector took on a greater role, effectively replacing the state’s responsibility as welfare provider, aligning with the post-war status quo of administering band-aid solutions to structural issues. This transposition of responsibility and accountability from the state to INGOs and NGOs has led to multiple problems: opacity in fund allocations, removal of state accountability for the provision of basic needs, duplication of action, project-based logic, reliance on donors who follow their own trends and agendas, and professionalisation of political activism resulting in de-politicisation of narrative and action, in this case co-optation of the concept of menstrual justice discourse by the aid sector.

Mirroring the bigoted neoliberalism of the Lebanese state, the NGO sector echoes racist, sectarian and classist stereotypes in conversations about period poverty, particularly regarding acceptance of alternative menstrual products. Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, for example, are often portrayed as passive recipients of foreign aid and depicted as holding more conservative beliefs than their Lebanese counterparts.

The menstrual products market in Lebanon is composed of social enterprises and local businesses, while some strive to destigmatise menstruation in addition to providing alternative products, others focus on the sales or distribution aspects only: they all target different audiences, partnering sometimes with INGOs and NGOs to distribute their products.

Some social enterprises in Lebanon work with women to produce menstrual pads locally, with the aim of promoting the economic independence of women in refugee camps while also offering reusable alternatives. When introducing their products to various communities around Lebanon, their discourse includes menstrual awareness session and economic independence for the women sawing the pads and the users.

Other reusable alternatives, like menstrual cups and period panties, were brought into the limelight in 2019 and 2022, at a time when much of the population in Lebanon faced shrinking purchasing power due to hyperinflation. Yet, these products were not made available to the same extent to marginalised segments of society through NGO distribution. Instead, cups and period panties are sold online, and usually in expensive eco-friendly niche stores in Beirut and its northern Christian suburbs. Their social media campaigns target middle-to-upper class teenagers and young adults, leaving out a significant portion of the menstruating population. Some of the brands follow the guidelines of previously mentioned advertisements, portraying a beautified version of the menstrual experience.

When menstrual cycles and funding cycles sync

In a global context of conversations about global warming and climate change as an individual responsibility, project guidelines include shifting to environmentally friendly behaviours. With reusable menstrual products significantly reducing waste, they may greenwash economic injustice and burden communities that have already little access to infrastructure with the task of waste reduction.

Because the ‘insertion’ aspect of menstrual cups raises questions about virginity prevalent across the Lebanese territory, there is a need for information sessions to address moral concerns that encompasses the ‘insertion’ aspect of their use. There is a recurring idea in the aid sector that some communities are “more ready” than others to be exposed and use these products, with comments reflecting classist, sectarian and nationality-based biases among some NGO staff. NGO discourse often equates “conservatism” with Muslim communities, conveniently overlooking challenges related to Christian conservatism. However, the symbolic importance of virginity and the myths associated with it – at the crux of conversation on different options of products whether disposable or reusable– cuts across class, sectarian and legal status. Addressing it requires time in planning a well-structured communication strategy, and skills in myth debunking while maintaining trust, and socio-cultural sensitivity to the commitments and beliefs of participants.

Though, impact achievement measured through quantitative metrics often drives NGO project planning: number of products distributed, people reached, or information sessions delivered. This impels organisers to focus on a single product, assuming what would best suit a community, considering factors like age, religion, and socio-economic context regardless of the diverse needs that exist among a group. This method aims to minimise resistance and reduce the need for myth debunking when introducing new products. As such they distribute one type of product, rather than exposing participants to diverse options, opening conversations about comfort and the limited options available, and leaving the choice to their informed judgment, physical comfort and needs.

This situation underscores the broader issue of product accessibility in the country. Four years into Lebanon’s collapse, menstrual panties and cups are available to those who are aware of them, yet they are still not widely considered by organisations as options for the wider public. The funding architecture perpetuates a community-based 'one-size-fits-all' approach, prioritising ease of planning and auditing over individual comfort. From 2019 to 2021, options on the Lebanese market were limited, with some alternatives being brought into the country via suitcases. However, since 2022, local brands for various products have flourished. The only barrier to NGOs and INGOs utilizing these options now is the project economy’s architecture.  

During menstrual awareness sessions, using a single type of product for all participants simplifies planning for organisations and donors but fails to provide individuals with the opportunity to explore different products based on their preferences and needs. In this sense, it is about considering that different people who menstruate could use different products, but also that they can do that throughout their cycle and lifetime.

Comfort Matters: Paving the Way to Menstrual Justice

The neglect of individual comfort in menstrual product distribution is evident. Transitioning to alternative products requires sufficient time for discussion, addressing questions, and providing the necessary resources to support the new routine involving practical challenges and potential personal discomfort like access to clean water and private spaces for drying reusable period products.

Feminist imagination and time are key to a path towards menstrual justice: both require extracting ourselves from the commodification of basic needs and essentialization of communities to draw new meanings from menstrual experiences in all their diversity.

The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.