Bringing Light to Dark Nights

Email: info@mettavalley.org
Phone: (703) 951-6466
Mail: 2600 16th St S, Unit 702 Arlington VA 22204

Another dark, cold, and lonely night for 14-year-old Maya*… She is scared, but she is slowly getting used to this. She has to spend her nights in a dingy cowshed. In a few days, as she stops menstruating, it will be all over. And next month, she has to go through this again as her period starts.

Maya is one of the many women in the villages of far-west Nepal where the belief that menstruating women are impure has materialized into an oppressive norm. They are forced to live in a separately constructed tiny hut, with walls made of mud/rocks that are located outside the house.

This practice, known as “Chhaupadi,” has been going on for generations, leading to cases of abuse and even deaths. Despite being outlawed by the government since 2005, the social norms surrounding it persist, leaving women to suffer.

Our Mission: Ending Period Poverty and Empowering Women

We believe that menstrual health is central to women’s well-being and plays a crucial role in dismantling oppressive social norms. The first step towards change is providing women with comfortable, quality sanitary products during menstruation.

Period Poverty: A Barrier to Progress

Period poverty, defined as the inability to access sanitary products due to financial and social constraints, is prevalent in far-western Nepal. Limited access to healthy sanitary products forces women to use unclean fabrics, exacerbating existing prejudices and leading to physical, emotional, and social suffering.

The PADS Project - A Small Step Toward Change

Our current project focuses on women’s menstrual health in a village with 173 residents. So far, we have provided 150 reusable, eco-friendly menstrual pads to 50 women, aiming to significantly impact their lives. Our goal is to provide at least 5 pads to all 173 women by March 2021 and make this model sustainable through awareness, behavior changes, and a support network.