Menstrual Pop-up Gallery Promotes Women’s Health

Menstrual Pop-up Gallery Promotes Women’s Health

UKZN in collaboration with the Wireless Female Network (WFN) commemorated Women’s Month with a pop-up gallery focused on menstrual health.

Held at the EG Malherbe (Main) Library on the Howard College campus, the gallery titled, the Great Hall of Red, featured creative artworks from high school learners and a display of innovative feminine products by Pretti Personal.

Director of the WFN, Ms Valeria Naidoo said the exhibition was in keeping with the theme of National Women’s Month as it aimed to celebrate women and their rights.

Executive Director for Corporate Relations at UKZN, Ms Normah Zondo said the University was proud to be part of an initiative that sheds light on the pressing issues surrounding menstrual hygiene which affect millions of women and girls across the globe, particularly in developing nations and the continent of Africa. ‘More than 300 million women around the world are menstruating as we speak, yet according to the World Bank, a staggering 500 million women lack access to the necessary menstrual products and proper facilities to conduct menstrual hygiene management.’

Zondo added that the menstrual health pop-up gallery was a call to action: ‘The art on display challenges us to confront the realities of menstrual health and reflect on the steps we can take to address these issues. It serves as a powerful reminder that through creativity and collaboration we can inspire change.’

Non-executive board member of the WFN, Ms Deveshnee Mariah said that the global organisation was established in 2018 with the aim of driving awareness and advocating for menstruators. She described the Great Hall of Red pop-up gallery as a fun, engaging way to incorporate periods in a creative and educational manner through art, drama, storytelling, fashion and poetry.

Commenting on menstrual health as a human right and the coming of age of a girl child as a journey into womanhood, Mariah added, ‘the purpose of a menstrual art gallery is to foster collaboration, learning, education and promote conversations that destigmatise period health.’

Delivering the vote of thanks, Professor Ntombifikile Mazibuko, Interim Senior Director for Student Services, said that the artwork told important stories. She thanked the artists who shared their work with the public, noting that, ‘without their talent and vision this event would not have been possible.’

Mazibuko added that it is heartening that period poverty has become part of the conversation, empowering the girl child and women ‘to not allow a normal physiological phenomenon to limit them.’ She commended the WFN for their vision, students for attending and the Corporate Relations team for making the event possible.

Ms Sandra Naicker, non-executive board member of WFN performed a poem written by one of the learners, titled An Ode to the Red Odyssey.

Lucky draw winners received feminine products sponsored by Pretti Personal.

Words: Hlengiwe Khwela

Photographs: Andile Ndlovu