"From Collaborative Learning on Women's Reproductive Health Rights and Workshops on Making Fabric Sanitary in Manokwari and Arfak Mountains"

In commemoration of International Women's Day which is celebrated every March 8, Bentara Papua in collaboration with Biyung Indonesia and the Needle and Bitch Community held a workshop with the theme "Women Help Women: Learning Together about Reproductive Health Rights and Workshop on Making Cloth Bandages".
The workshop was held in two districts namely Manokwari Regency and Arfak Mountains Regency. The activities in Manokwari lasted for two days, namely from 18 to 19 March 2020 at Pondok Bentara, while the activities at Pegaf were held on 21 March 2020 located in Balai Kampung Ungga, Minyambouw District. Around 60 women from various walks of life included students, students, housewives, farmers, community facilitators, religious leaders, and even assistants from the Manokwari Women's Penitentiary and the Manokwari Regency Penitentiary.
On this occasion, participants were invited to discuss reproductive health and healthy menstrual rights for women. Westiani Agustin from Biyung Indonesia and Nidya Paramita from the Needle and Bitch Community explained that reproductive health is one of the basic and fundamental rights of every human being including women. An important part of women's reproductive health is menstruation. Every woman will experience a menstrual cycle approximately 400 times from her first menstruation to enter menopause. Menstrual sanitary napkin is an important support system in the process of fulfilling reproductive health needs. If in one menstrual cycle a woman needs 20 to 25 sheets of disposable sanitary pads, then approximately a woman will use 240-300 sanitary pads in one year.
Currently, women face a critical problem, namely the increasing number of women experiencing reproductive health problems and suffering from cervical cancer due to the use of disposable pads that contain harmful chemicals, such as dioxins, bleach and deodorizers. The burden of Mother Earth or Land Mama is also increasing because it is polluted with disposable sanitary waste which continues to increase. The cause of these problems is the lack of knowledge and access to information about reproductive health rights and access to public health facilities or centers, the lack of availability of safe, healthy and affordable sanitary pads, and the lack of public awareness about the impact of the use of disposable pads which end up being difficult to decompose. in land or water.

After knowing the problems faced, participants were invited to find and explore ideas for joint solutions to overcome these problems. Participants are then trained to make cloth pads as part of the support system and it is hoped that in the future they can independently produce these cloth pads to fulfill their reproductive health rights and work together to contribute positively to the healthier and more sustainable lives of women for Mama Tanah Papua.
The entire Bentara Papua team hopes that everything that has been learned, discussed and practiced during this activity can be applied in personal, family life, and as far as possible is transmitted to other women, according to the theme of the activity of "Women's Assist Women's". (nur)