TEDx Talks - Menstrue Libre: Du tabou à l'expertise | Khady CISSE | TEDxWassakara
The speaker recounts her personal experiences with menstruation, highlighting the societal taboos and lack of education surrounding it. She describes her struggles growing up, including the challenges of accessing education and the stigma associated with menstruation. Despite these obstacles, she pursued a career in midwifery to help educate and empower women about their bodies. She founded an organization focused on menstrual health, developed educational materials, and became an expert in menstrual cycles. Her work aims to break the stigma, improve menstrual education, and empower women to live with dignity. She emphasizes the importance of community support and mentorship in achieving her goals.
Key Points:
- Menstruation is a natural phenomenon but often stigmatized, leading to challenges for young girls.
- Education and open discussions about menstrual health are crucial for empowerment.
- The speaker founded an organization to promote menstrual health and education.
- Community support and mentorship are vital in overcoming societal taboos.
- Empowering women through education can lead to broader societal impacts.
Details:
1. 🌸 Breaking Menstrual Taboos
- Menstruation affects thousands of girls globally and remains a taboo topic, leading to significant societal challenges.
- The stigma around menstruation causes discomfort in sports, work, and school settings, with some girls avoiding school due to embarrassment.
- Addressing these taboos is crucial for improving life quality and opportunities for girls, highlighting the need for awareness initiatives.
- Examples of successful initiatives include educational campaigns in schools and workplaces to normalize menstruation discussion.
2. 👶 A Unique Birth and Early Life Challenges
- The speaker was born in a taxi in Kumassi without any medical assistance, marking the beginning of their challenging life.
- After the untimely death of their father, the speaker's family, with six children, faced increased hardships.
- From a young age, the speaker contributed to the family by helping their grandmother sell tea, which included a daily 2 km walk to the market, showcasing their resilience and work ethic.
- Despite the demanding circumstances, the speaker managed household chores after school, indicating a high level of responsibility and lack of resources, as hiring help was not an option.
3. 🏃♀️ Educational Struggles and Triumphs
- Significant hardships faced in accessing education, with emotional and financial challenges impacting the family.
- Parental support and external help from a relative were crucial in overcoming educational barriers.
- Transition from public to private education required additional financial resources for tuition.
- A desire for quality education motivated efforts to enroll in better schools, despite the financial burden.
- Parental sacrifices and advocacy played a key role in ensuring educational opportunities.
- The journey included learning new languages and dealing with hardships, illustrating the importance of persistence and support.
- Specific hardships included language barriers when moving to a new country, requiring intensive language learning and adaptation.
- Financial sacrifices included parents taking on extra jobs to afford better educational opportunities.
- The support from an aunt was pivotal in navigating educational systems and providing financial aid.
- Achieving educational success required a multi-faceted approach, including personal determination and family/community support.
4. 🤯 First Menstrual Experience and Cultural Taboos
4.1. Personal Experience
4.2. Cultural Taboos
5. 🧕 Overcoming Stigma and Finding Support
- Muslim girls face significant stigma during menstruation, as they are advised not to pray, reflecting a cultural and religious handling of menstruation.
- Practical advice is common, such as using and regularly washing cloth pieces for menstrual protection, showing a grassroots approach to menstrual management.
- Menstrual product failures during sports, like basketball, highlight the embarrassment and challenge of participating in physical activities, indicating a need for better menstrual products and education.
- A personal story of entrepreneurship is shared, with the speaker selling grilled peanuts and bananas to support her mother, underscoring the importance of economic independence alongside cultural challenges.
- There is notable pressure to hide menstruation during school activities, stressing the need for comprehensive menstrual education and support to reduce stigma.
- The narrative emphasizes the broader issue of limited education and support for girls, particularly related to menstruation, signaling a need for systemic change and empowerment strategies.
6. 📚 Empowering Through Youth Movements
- The speaker initially faced cultural and familial challenges due to societal norms that discouraged women's participation in activities outside the home.
- Despite these barriers, the speaker joined a youth movement focused on sexual health education, becoming actively involved in community initiatives.
- By 2008, the speaker emerged as a leader within the movement, spearheading educational efforts on sexual education and body awareness for adolescents and young people.
- The speaker organized conferences and training sessions to dismantle taboos surrounding women's health and development.
- Through strategic negotiation and persistence, the speaker secured family support, which significantly expanded the educational outreach and impact within the community.
7. 🏥 Journey to Midwifery and Advocacy
- Became involved in associative life at the IBF, seeking to credibly discuss sexuality and help women understand their bodies.
- Inspired by personal family challenges, aimed to pursue a career in midwifery to help women become autonomous.
- Faced obstacles in education where degree validity was questioned, leading to a pause in pursuing midwifery.
- Worked as a project facilitator with partners for 5 years, indicating the need for resilience in career development.
- Struggled with educational setbacks, yet remained active in associative work, including roles in steering committees.
- Achieved a milestone by being recognized as a midwife, overcoming earlier challenges and fears.
- Advocated for women's health rights, significantly impacting community awareness and engagement.
- Utilized personal experiences to inform and improve advocacy strategies, enhancing outreach effectiveness.
- Developed workshops to educate women on reproductive health, receiving positive community feedback.
8. 🌍 Becoming a Menstrual Health Advocate
- Founded an organization focused on child and women's health in 2019, emphasizing menstrual health advocacy.
- Developed a regional project called '72 Heures des Monstruations' after participating in the Yali Dakar program.
- Published two books to support young girls and launched a reusable menstrual pad product line.
- Positioned as a menstrual health expert after completing specialized training in Paris.
- Created the concept 'Monstru Libre' to promote menstrual freedom and provide coaching around menstrual cycles.
- Received two awards in 2023: Human Rights for the impact of '72 Heures des Monstruations' and Entrepreneurship through Digital Africa Women.
- Despite personal challenges, including a divorce in 2023, continued to focus on developing menstrual health initiatives.
9. 🌟 Championing Menstrual Dignity and Empowerment
- A book targeting children aged six and above is being released to educate them about menstruation, aiming for early understanding and acceptance.
- The speaker was selected as one of 20 women for a regional program in West Africa to enhance community impact and advocate for menstrual health.
- A groundbreaking short film on menstruation was produced in Ivory Coast, marking a significant step towards normalizing menstrual discussions.
- Despite challenges in digital presence, the speaker's substantial on-the-ground impact earned her the title of 'Best Midwife of the Year.'
- Extensive travel and workshops across the Niger sub-region, including conferences and training sessions, were conducted to boost menstrual health awareness.
- The initiative addresses menstrual pain, lack of hygiene products, and supports women unable to work during menstruation, aiming to improve their quality of life.
- Promoting menstrual dignity is linked to increased confidence, personal growth, and higher female school enrollment, empowering girls to make impactful decisions.