Cartography: Cheng Can
"If there is an afterlife, do you want to be a girl or a boy?" When Wang Wenjuan, the head of the UU White Shell Project, raised this question in the public welfare class of a mountain school in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, few people raised their hands "wanting to be a girl" on the grounds that they felt dirty and troublesome and disliked. "I want to ask this question to understand their gender identity." Wang Wenjuan said.
Although this public welfare class of adolescent physiological health knowledge is only for girls, the initial atmosphere is a bit embarrassing. When hearing the words "menstruation", some girls buried their heads in their arms shyly, and some blushed and rubbed their hands. Until they found that the physical and health supplies sent by Wang Wenjuan were exactly what they usually lacked; Many of the physiological coping methods mentioned are not taught by my mother or sister. The confusion about the physiological period in their hearts has been solved little by little. One, two, three … … Girls began to raise their hands to ask questions and interact, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up.
When Wang Wenjuan left, everyone blocked this warm-hearted little sister at the door of the classroom and hugged her. A girl insisted on sending her to the school gate and kept saying "Annigu" (Yi meaning: I love you — — Reporter’s note). A girl later wrote to tell her: "The sanitary towel you sent is like a care. I didn’t expect that I could get such meticulous care from others. I know how to protect myself in the future."
After entering adolescence, there are always many "question marks" in my heart.
During the first physiological period, Xiaofen (a pseudonym), a left-behind girl from a single-parent family in niujie Middle School, Weishan County, Yunnan Province, was not particularly panicked. She remembered what the biology teacher had said and bought sanitary napkins by herself. She didn’t feel well for a few days, but she didn’t tell her grandmother and her father who worked outside the home because she was shy. For the physiological period, she knows nothing about other precautions except that she strictly abides by her classmates’ "Don’t touch cold water and eat popsicles".
It was not until the social worker of the "Spring Willow" left-behind girl care project came to the school that Xiaofen participated in the accompanying activities of the "Spring Willow" class and knew how to use sanitary napkins and how to wash underwear during the physiological period.
Lu Ying, the director of "Spring Willow" project, and his team visited some mountainous areas in Yunnan and found that "menstrual poverty" is a common phenomenon. Some girls go to the nearest store to buy sanitary napkins, and they have to walk more than ten kilometers, and the types available are very limited; Influenced by their elders, some girls will still use traditional methods, such as toilet paper and menstrual belt, to cope with the physiological period, and social workers will learn to use sanitary napkins after repeated explanations.
Like Lu Ying, Ma Yali, project director of Yicang Charity Service Center in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, has also discovered the problem of "menstrual poverty" of many girls in rural areas since she participated in charity activities to help poor girls in 2018.
When delivering "Xiao Ya Bao" including sanitary products and underwear, Ma Yali talked with local rural girls and learned that they were discovered by their mother only after the second physiological period or even the fourth or fifth time.
Ma Yali also learned that many rural girls generally choose "what to buy cheaply" for physical hygiene products, and even some girls don’t change sanitary napkins often during the physiological period in order to save money, and there are also cases of gynecological bacterial infections.
"Many girls always have a lot in their hearts after they enter adolescence ‘ Question mark ’ " In the past seven years, in order to help girls in rural areas correctly understand the knowledge of physical health, Ouyang Chenxi, co-founder of Lingmei Public Welfare Organization, has carried out related projects in Sichuan, Zhejiang and other places to help girls aged 11-19 to grow physically and mentally. When she once held an activity in Liangshan Prefecture, she found that some local girls didn’t know why their buttocks were bleeding, why they had a stomachache during their physiological period, and why they couldn’t control their emotions for a few days.
"Without sanitary napkins, many rural left-behind girls can’t say it ‘ Pain ’ 。” Wang Wenjuan has been doing public welfare for more than five years, and many remote mountainous areas in Yunnan and Tibet are places that he often goes to. In addition to financial difficulties, she found that local girls still have a strong sense of "menstrual shame". This sense of shame also comes from the outside world.
For example, I heard that Wang Wenjuan sent sanitary napkins, and some schools declined to say that "it’s easy to publicize the farewell things, but it’s hard to tell the outside world to send this (sanitary napkin)". Although some schools accept donations, Wang Wenjuan feels that the other side has a subtle attitude of "I wish I could finish donating and leave quickly". Every time this happens, she always "talks about conditions" with the school — — Adhere to the principle of "be sure to give lectures to children" and ensure that every girl who receives hygiene products can hear physiology classes and psychological counseling classes. "I want to bring love to the children by giving away hygiene products." Wang Wenjuan said.
Giving away physical hygiene products is like "far from hydrolysis, near thirst"
In Ouyang Chenxi’s view, the "menstrual poverty" of many rural girls is closely related to family economic conditions, family members and the degree of care from the outside world. No one tells them how to deal with such a private matter as the physiological period, and they don’t have much money to buy sanitary products themselves. Some left-behind girls’ daily pocket money is only more than 10 yuan. When it comes to "unlucky days", they always blush and ask their grandparents for money to "buy that".
"Giving physical hygiene products to girls in remote mountainous areas is like ‘ Far hydrolysis cannot quench thirst ’ 。” Wang Wenjuan knew that "menstrual poverty" could easily lead to gynecological diseases and psychological problems of adolescent girls.
When she was volunteering, Wang Wenjuan learned that a girl had severe dysmenorrhea, local itching and other symptoms, but there was no one at home to accompany her to see a doctor. She tried to take the half-assed girl to the local hospital, but when she heard "going to gynecology" at the door of the hospital, the girl turned her head and ran away. Wang Wenjuan later learned that this girl was very resistant to the word "gynecology" and would rather not see a doctor than go to "that place".
However, Wang Wenjuan has also found some positive changes in the past two years. On one occasion, she went to three township schools in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province to give away sanitary products and give public lectures. Teachers from the county school also came to attend the lecture. After class, they also invited Wang Wenjuan to give a lecture in the county, and said, "Children in the county may not need donated sanitary products, but they need such physical hygiene classes." This recognition made Wang Wenjuan feel that the effort was worthwhile.
“‘ Menstrual poverty ’ It is likely to affect girls’ physical and mental health development, including schoolwork. " According to Dr. Long Di, a professor at the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the Center for the Protection of Children and Families, some girls lack physical hygiene products and the intimate care of adults around them. Coupled with the mentality of menstrual shame shaped by social culture, they will have negative emotions such as tension, anxiety and fear, and even dysmenorrhea. "It is necessary to strengthen education and support for girls’ physiological period and mental health."
How to strengthen the physical and mental health education and support for underage girls
"In addition to giving rural girls more volunteer services in terms of physical health knowledge, they must be made to identify with and love women’s identity." Ouyang Chenxi has been thinking about how to add more experiential volunteer service activities to the public welfare science popularization activities of physical health knowledge in the future, so as to better perceive girls’ emotions and stimulate their self-identity and positive growth from the inside out.
According to Long Di, according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to realize the best interests of children should ensure the two major needs of children’s safety and development. For the healthy growth of underage girls, she believes that parents, teachers and education departments are duty-bound, especially the education department should work with relevant experts and parents to formulate effective measures to effectively protect and care for the healthy development of underage girls’ physical health.
In addition, Long Di mentioned that the physical and mental health education services conducted by non-governmental public welfare organizations have been formed in recent years, and some ways have been explored. It is suggested that volunteers of public welfare activities pay special attention to respecting the living customs in underdeveloped areas, and do not have the attitude of "I am right, you are backward" and "I want to change you", but should explore with the recipients how to change the customs harmful to women’s physical and mental health, so that girls in poor areas have the opportunity to create a happy life.
"There are too many girls who need sanitary napkins, and there are too many lists received, which are all backlogged, but the fundraising can’t keep up." At present, Wang Wenjuan is facing a lot of pressure to raise funds. She said: "Donating physical hygiene products is just a way. Wherever you donate, you should talk about the course. I hope that the needs and difficulties of poor girls can be well-intentioned and gently protected, and don’t let ‘ Menstrual poverty ’ Happened to children. " (Reporter Jiao Minlong)
