As a primary health care giver Dr Ashonda Washington has had first-hand experiences of women and girls who are unaware of what the menstrual cycle really is about and how they are sometimes shamed because of the myths surrounding it.
As a child, Dr Washington said she herself was confused at times and she recalled that while she was boarding at President’s College many of her peers had the same experience. Over the years, she has been giving information to her patients but now she wants to take it to a broader level and has launched the Menstrual Awareness Campaign which focuses on period education. In the future she hopes to launch a non-profit organisation called Partners in Health that will encompass sexual and reproductive health.
“I noticed that there is a gap when it comes to knowledge about menstrual cycles. Also, many girls are being left to figure things out on their own without knowing about their first menstruation… When they go into puberty what are some of the things that can happen,” Dr Washington told this newspaper in a recent interview.
A medical doctor since 2013, she spent many years in Linden before moving to the Dorothy Bailey Health Centre on South Road.
She pointed out that some girls are not aware that they can become pregnant once puberty arises and there are sexual encounters.
“Even adults in my clinic when they come and you ask them about their period they do not know about it and the most they would say is ‘doctor I don’t know, all I know is that my period is supposed to come this time’. But when asked specific questions they don’t know. They just know that they have to bleed, that is all they know,” she explained.
That is among the reasons she was motivated to start the campaign as she does not want women and girls to be ashamed of their menstrual cycle, a normal healthy process they go through because of the changes in their bodies.
“If it wasn’t for periods we would not have been here so no woman should be ashamed to talk about it,” she added.
Fathers
She does not want to focus on women and girls alone, but fathers as well as she believes that in families it should be normal to discuss the menstrual cycle. She pointed out that there are men who refuse to purchase sanitary napkins and she wants to change this. Instead of being ashamed, men should be proud to purchase these items for their daughters or wives. The doctor said she also wants men and women to understand that there are times when their daughters may not be able to get out of bed because of the effects of their cycles and they should support them instead of labelling them as lazy.
The mother of three shared that when she got her first period she was ashamed. She recalled visiting the doctor’s office, being asked about it and ignoring the questions as she was shy in answering.
As a child as well she recalled hearing myths surrounding menstrual periods in her community but as she got older and had access to information she realised how wrong they were. She noted that if these are not cleared up they would continue to be perpetuated from generation to generation.
While she was concerned for quite some time it was a motivational workshop she attended in August that gave her the idea for the campaign which she believes goes hand-in-hand with First Lady Arya Ali’s sanitary pad distribution campaign.
After some planning, Dr Washington held her first workshop for young girls and their parents on November 20 in her home community Calcutta, Mahaicony where she also distributed care packages to the girls. While she gave information she also involved the participants (girls between the ages of nine and 15) in activities in an effort to help them understand their bodies more.
“Because when you understand your body you make better and wiser decisions,” she noted.
She said the fathers present were very receptive and asked when another such forum would be held.
The first forum was self-sponsored with some assistance from close friends and family, but she hopes going forward to receive sponsorship so that the campaign could be more effective. She shared that she celebrated her birthday in late October and instead of treating herself she used that money to help offset the expenses for the workshop.
“I would like to continue having sessions with both parents and the young girls countrywide because it is an awareness I want to create…,” she explained, adding it is why she needs sponsorship.
She also believes that there is some discrimination as well, with periods sometimes used to embarrass women. She gave the example of people saying, “like she on she period” to explain certain behaviours of women.
She recalled that during her secondary school days her peers hid when they had their periods as they did not want people to know. “In order to be the change [I] want to see… I would start with me by dispelling the myths that come with periods,” she added.
‘Love for the people’
In secondary school Dr Washington always knew she would have a science-influenced career, but initially did not see herself becoming a doctor as she had an issue with blood. At one point she wanted to be a nutritionist and at another time an environmental officer.
“But eventually it was my love for people and helping people that made me choose to become a doctor,” she said. She received a scholarship to Cuba and has not regretted it as according to her she is “loving what I do. I prefer to work in primary health care. This is where awareness happens and [I can] help persons to take preventative measures, so this is where I would stay, where I can create awareness in order to help persons to make better choices,” she said.
Most of her teenage years were spent in boarding school after which she went off to Cuba so while she was born in Mahaicony, Dr Washington spent most of her years outside of the community.
But the community still influenced the woman she is today and she holds it dearly in her heart.
