Menstruation: Teach boys early, SPMC tells parents

Convener of the Sanitary Pad Media Campaign (SPMC), Anikeade Funke-Treasure, has urged parents and stakeholders to start teaching boys about menstruation early, saying this will help them develop empathy and become better supporters of women and girls.

Funke-Treasure, who made the call at an SPMC virtual meeting on “Including Boys in Menstrual Health Conversations: The Indian-Nigerian Conversation,” said menstruation should not be treated as an issue exclusively for girls and women, as boys would eventually become husbands, fathers, brothers, colleagues, supervisors, and policymakers.

According to her, educating boys early would promote empathy, respect, and healthier attitudes towards menstruating and menopausal women.

She stressed the importance of men as caregivers, noting that husbands and brothers could be among the first to recognise when women close to them experience health challenges such as fibroids or endometriosis.

“That’s why it’s important for us to speak with the boys, to have empathy, to be able to care for us and to understand what we’re going through as menstruators,” she said.

Funke-Treasure said male involvement was also necessary to push menstrual health issues into the “formal corridors” where policies and major decisions were made.

She said SPMC had moved beyond distributing sanitary pads to advocacy, education, and behavioural-change campaigns through podcasts, drama, radio programmes, essay competitions, and community events. The campaign, she disclosed, had reached more than 10,000 girls and supported girls and women with disabilities through supplies to institutions in Ibadan and Jos.

A counselling psychologist, Samiran Ghodmare, said family attitudes, school environments, and societal behaviours strongly shape how boys understand menstruation.

Reflecting on his childhood experience of being discouraged from asking questions about menstruation, Ghodmare said such silence leaves boys uninformed and can influence how they later respond to girls and women.

He added that gender stereotypes that teach boys to suppress pain and emotions could make it difficult for them to understand the physical and emotional experiences associated with menstruation.

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Ghodmare advocated inclusive puberty education in schools, where boys and girls can learn together, saying early education would help nurture empathetic and informed men willing to support women and girls.

He also urged society to broaden menstrual health conversations to cover women’s health across the life course, including menopause, while calling for more research and public awareness.

Funmi Olorunmola, founder of the Citizen Participation Advancement and Awareness Initiative (CPAAI), said menstruation should not be treated as a secret. She recounted an incident in which a girl stayed away from school for two weeks after being mocked by boys following a menstrual accident.

Olorunmola introduced the “INCLUDE” framework—“Informed, Normalised, Collaborative, Lead by example, Understand, Distribute resources, and Empowered”—as an approach to engaging boys in menstrual health conversations and challenging stigma.

She said fathers, male teachers, and community leaders should actively support menstrual dignity by helping distribute menstrual products and advocating for better understanding.

Public health researcher at the University of Glasgow, Dr Sagarika Limaye, cited research showing that although many boys have incomplete knowledge of menstruation, they are often curious, sympathetic, and willing to learn.

Limaye said menstrual health education should address not only the biology of menstruation but also the stigma and social attitudes surrounding it.

She cited WHO/UNICEF school data indicating that only 39 per cent of schools provide menstrual health education, stressing the need to consider who actually receives such education.

Limaye urged educators to teach boys that menstruation is normal, encourage questions without shame, and promote empathy and respectful responses. The goal, she said, is not for boys to experience menstruation but to understand and support those around them who do.