Menstrual health is not just a women’s issue—it’s a societal one. In Namibia, cultural taboos and lack of education often leave boys and men uninformed, perpetuating stigma and inequality. Hermine Bertoli advocates for a family-centered approach where boys are included in menstrual education, believing this is essential to break taboos, foster understanding, and create lasting change.
Hermine Bertoli you are a human ecologist and founder of Ann Pads, you do primary research on the issue of serious poverty in Namibia. What prompted you to do that?
“It's because we have an extremely high teenage pregnancy rate in Namibia, which I think is not out of stupidity but out of ignorance, which means we have an extreme lack of education. And then, of course, there is a lack of sanitary products. Currently, in my country, we are still very, very traditional and cultural. To give you an idea: in a city like Windhoek, if girls do not have money to buy sanitary products, they go to rich guys to get the money, and we call it “the rich daddy issue.” In the meantime, they get pregnant. That leads, obviously, to abortion, which is not legal in our country yet, and that brings girls to do backstreet abortion, which tends to be extremely, extremely dangerous.
For the girls in rural areas, there are certain areas where they have a root, and in the middle, there is some kind of cotton like material that girls use when they menstruate instead of sanitary products. But what the girls generally do when they menstruate is make a hole in the ground behind their hut. The girls could sit there for a day or two. It sounds like it's not real, but it's real. In my country, it's just a way of doing things.
In some other rural areas, they use red ochre. They take it and mix it with herbs and fat, and they spray it all over their bodies. It is to protect the skin and also for beauty. Even if they go somewhere, they put the red color all over the body. So even if the blood runs down the legs, they think nobody will see it because it blends with the color of the skin. So, we have these things that they practice differently. I think in our rural areas it's more an educational thing, even about sanitary products. We can tell them there are other ways with safer products because the traditional ways can lead to serious problems. One thing is also that when girls menstruate, they do not go to school, usually for a week. And nowadays, for a girl to miss school for a week, that's tremendous. That's a big problem”.
Why is it important to involve the boys and men also in menstrual issues?
“The teachers need to educate the boys about this as well. I am convinced that if we do it properly, we will be able to reach the young generation, and they can spread the word to family and friends. Another problem is that most of our teachers are men, and they refuse to talk about this issue. Our textbooks only have a small paragraph about menstruation instead of a chapter, because that is where mankind starts.
It's a taboo in many areas to talk about menstruation. Nobody talks about it. In some cultures, the men are not aware at all about menstruation, which means that we do not educate the boys. I'm also the owner and founder of Ann Pads, and we produce washable sanitary pads. We concentrate on the family approach, which is very important. So, whenever I do presentations, it's crucial for the boys to be present. One must not just criticize; one must always try and give solutions.
I think if our different ministries for health and education can come together and tackle this vigorous problem and give everybody the information needed; we should be able to reach the younger generation. Since we have a small population, about 2 million, it should be possible to do this. We have 14 regions, and if we include all these ministries or the directors of all the regions, we'll be able to reach all the corners of Namibia.
I don’t propose ideas that can’t be realized. At this stage, I’m confident this goal is within reach for Namibia”, Hermine concludes.