By Ifeizu Joe
Wife of the governor of Anambra State, Dr Nonye Soludo has warned against stigmatizing Young girls during their menstrual cycle by isolating them, excluding from society or even mocking them.
Mrs Soludo stated this on Thursday in an event she organized to celebrate this year’s Menstrual Hygiene Day, which was attended by female students from various secondary schools and female members of her NGO, who were known as Healthy Living Ambassados.
She encouraged girls not to be ashamed when experiencing the cycle, insisting there was nothing wrong in undergoing menstruation.
She said some girls are mocked, made to feel unclean and even restricted from certain activities because they were experiencing their monthly flow. She warned that such would not be tolerated.
“Today, I lend my voice strongly to the call for an end to every form of discrimination, stigma, and harmful practices against menstruating women and girls.
“I stand before you not just as a mother, a woman, or the wife of the Governor of Anambra State, but as an advocate for dignity, health, confidence, and the future of our children, especially girls.
“We must replace shame with understanding, silence with education, and exclusion with compassion and support. Every girl deserves to experience her womanhood with dignity, confidence, and pride, not fear or humiliation. This is why conversations like this are important.
“Menstruation is a natural part of life. It is not a curse. It is not a taboo. It is not something any girl should be ashamed of.”
She lamented that despite these glaring facts, across many communities, countless girls still suffer in silence because of stigma, poor hygiene education, lack of sanitary materials, and harmful cultural and social misconceptions.
She said: “Some are isolated, mocked, restricted from certain activities, or made to feel unclean and inferior during their menstrual cycle. This should never be so,” she insisted.
Wife of the governor emphasized on healthy living, saying that a healthy society begins with healthy families, and healthy families are built by informed, confident, and empowered women and girls.
She said her NGO, Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo has continued to promote cleanliness, proper hygiene, nutrition, physical wellness, and preventive healthcare across homes, communities and schools in Anambra State.
She added that the NGO has successfully established sanitary pad banks in over 350 schools across Anambra State, with periodic refilling based on needs and usage, and also distributed over 25,000 packs of sanitary pads to support school girls.
