Collaboration between by Masnuah (Year 2022) and Westiani Agustin (Year 2022)
Westiani from Biyung Indonesia and Masnuah from Perkumpulan Puspita Bahari Demak collaborated to initiate a menstrual health education and cloth menstrual pads production workshop for the fisherwomen communities in the coastal area of Demak.
This collaboration project aims to facilitate and accommodate fisherwomen living in the coastal area of Demak to fight and end period poverty through education and empowerment programs. This collaboration able successfully engaged partners such as The Regent of Demak, BAZNAS Demak, The Head of People’s Representative Council of Demak Health Ministry, The five women communities that have been involved in the distribution program, Koalisi Rakyat untuk Keadilan Perikanan, LBH APIK Semarang, Persaudaraan Perempuan Nelayan Indonesia Environment Office, Faculty of Psychology of Universitas Islam Indonesia.
Three villages and four hamlets/sub-villages in the coastal area of Demak Regency, Central Java, are threatened with submergence. Due to land subsidence, erosion, and improper development, the coastal villages of the Puspita Bahari Fisherwomen Community are experiencing disasters like tidal floods and isolation. As a result, the economy becomes more uncertain, while daily expenses, including reproductive health needs, become increasingly burdensome.
In this program, five local heroes were selected to become facilitators and continue educational activities and training in sewing cloth sanitary pads in at least five women's communities in the coastal area of Demak. In total, there are 30 women who participated in producing 660 cloth sanitary pads. They earned a new income from sewing cloth sanitary pads. From the produced sanitary pads, they could help 250 women and girls’ saving at least Rp. 120,000,000; over the next 4 years, which can be converted for other needs such as self-care, buying books, or starting a business. This movement can potentially reduce 120,000 disposable sanitary napkins into waste over 4 years.
In the future, Westiani and Masnuah are hoping to collaborate and engage many women from different communities, such as women in the fishing industry, farmers, women with disabilities, waste bank managers, and paralegals to strengthen this project.
This collaboration received positive responses and feedback from participants, collaborators, supporters, and women's communities in the coastal region of Demak. Everyone agrees to work together to continue and develop this project, especially in the coastal region of Demak. They appreciated this program because able to
Create a safe space for women from diverse communities to discuss their physical body, the right to healthy menstruation, and new skills to increase their income.
Build the Women Fishermen Community of Puspita Bahari a new production unit, which is the production of cloth sanitary pads, and it has already started to be marketed.
Spread the awareness about sexual and reproductive health, especially menstrual health, and environmental sustainability.
Strengthening women communities networking to end period poverty, especially in the coastal area of Demak.
That women communities have high spirit and commitment to be involved and participate in the process of the project. They are very enthusiastic in attending and participating in the workshop education activity despite having to commute for a few hours to get to the venue. Further, they are also committed to work together to finish the cloth menstrual pads production until the target of producing 660 pieces of cloth menstrual pads are achieved. They are also enthusiastic in distributing those cloth menstrual pads to other women in the area.
Watch documentation of the collaboration:
