Session on Menstrual Hygiene and Cleanliness

Under colorful canopies, with banners flying and chairs set out in rows, a neighborhood in Abuja becomes a classroom for a conversation that is too often left unspoken. The Session on Menstrual Hygiene and Cleanliness brings girls, women, men and community members together in one open space to learn about menstrual health, personal hygiene and the simple habits that protect dignity and wellbeing.

The session is led by ZAIDF facilitators who speak directly to the gathering, microphone in hand, in clear and respectful language. Girls are not singled out or embarrassed; they sit alongside family members and neighbors, and the message is shared with everyone. When women and men, girls and boys are all part of the conversation, menstruation stops being a secret to be endured and becomes something the whole community understands and supports.

For a girl, access to accurate information and clean, safe practices can decide whether she stays healthy, confident and in school. That is why the session pairs open discussion with an atmosphere of celebration, with balloons, banners and moments of joyful gathering, so that a sensitive subject is met with warmth rather than shame.

ZAIDF's organisational profile records this work at the Kabusa Community in Abuja, alongside sessions on sexual and reproductive health, life-building skills and financial literacy for young people.

This work grows directly from ZAIDF's mission to empower communities through the promotion of equality, dignity of life and sustainable development. It builds on the foundation's wider menstrual hygiene work, including the Padher Campaign, and reflects a simple belief: every girl and woman deserves to manage her health with knowledge, privacy and pride, wherever she lives.