Status of Menstrual Dignity during the COVID-19 Pandemics

Abstract

The pandemic has been exacerbating existing inequalities between women and men in almost all areas of life [3]. However, menstrual discrimination (taboos, stigma, abuses, restrictions, discriminations) has not been studied in the context of the pandemic at least in Asia in spite of the well published earlier concerns in regard to the politics of menstruation during the pandemic by Jahan [11], by the first data published by Aolymat on women in Jordan [12] and several other authors [13][14][15].Therefore, this study was conducted to fill this gap mainly by contributing to a better understanding of menstrual dignity and the experiences of women and LGBTQI during menstruation and observed changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodologyThe study adopted a mixed-method qualitative method integrating qualitative components based on open questions with a short structured questionnaire to elicit general social data and basic information on menstruation related health literacy developed for the study. We also decided to use a multi/transcultural approach by recruiting participants from different countries and cultures as culture has been identified as a major factor in menstrual practices and related