EngenderHealth

This should never happen.

Yesmin was married at 12. Within a year, she was pregnant.

After a long and difficult labor, she lost her baby—and returned home with a condition she didn’t understand.

Yesmin had developed an obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury that can leave women leaking urine or f***s, often for years without treatment.

She went back to a health center, only to learn that care wasn’t available nearby. Without the money to travel, she waited.

For three years, she lived with the physical and social consequences—stigma, isolation, and the loss of her marriage—before she was finally able to access surgery.

Her story is not unique. It reflects what happens when girls are married too young, and when access to care comes too late.

Read more: https://loom.ly/nwY59EU

Today, on Menstrual Hygiene Day, it’s a reminder that menstrual health is a human right—and for many, access to care and information is still out of reach.

For most of her life, Rani managed her period the only way she knew how—with strips of old cloth.

In her village in Bihar, menstruation wasn’t something people talked about. Even when women experienced discomfort or infections, they often stayed silent.

That began to change when her daughter Pallavi became a peer educator.

Together, they learned about a different option: a menstrual cup.

At first, it felt unfamiliar. But with time, information, and support, Rani decided to try it.

“The first two days were uncomfortable,” she said. “Then it was freedom.”

She could work, travel, and move through her day without worry.

That’s what access to information and care can make possible.

🔗 Read more: https://loom.ly/BLBcKK8