The true cost of periods
Business Daily
BBC
4.4 • 816 Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2019
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Periods. We rarely talk about them but half the world's population will have to manage menstruation for a good chunk of their lives.
For some women, their monthly period brings shame and stigmatisation, as they are forced out of their communities. Others simply can't afford the products they need to carry on with their lives.
Ruth Evans reports from Nepal on some of the challenges and the solutions being developed, to help improve the lives of millions.
We also hear from Janie Hampton, of World Menstrual Network, who's calling for drastic change in the way periods are managed, not just in poor communities but in the developed world, too.
(Photo: A Nepalese woman steps out from a 'chhaupadi house' in the village of Achham, Nepal. Isolation is part of a centuries-old Hindu ritual where women are prohibited from participating in normal family activities during menstruation and after childbirth. Credit: Getty Images)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | 60 seconds. Everyone is sitting there not knowing what has happened. We might not make it. |
| 0:06.7 | 13 minutes to the moon from the BBC World Service coming soon. |
| 0:15.5 | Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC. I'm Vivian Nunes. Coming up, periods, we rarely talk about them, |
| 0:23.2 | but half the world's population will have to manage menstruation for a good chunk of their lives. |
| 0:28.1 | When I was growing up, I used the old sari rags, folded up and made it. But one of the biggest |
| 0:33.3 | problem is when you are washing and drying, because everybody knows that you're in a period. |
| 0:38.7 | But managing periods is not just a problem for the developing world. |
| 0:42.4 | I'm really ashamed to admit that in my life I will have filled two mini buses or utility vehicles |
| 0:49.9 | with pads and tampons. |
| 0:52.7 | That's all in Business Daily from the BBC. |
| 0:58.1 | Virtually all women and girls of reproductive age menstruate. |
| 1:02.0 | Let's think about that. |
| 1:03.2 | There are 3.8 billion women on the planet. |
| 1:06.0 | If we say roughly half of them are of menstruating age, |
| 1:09.0 | that's nearly 2 billion people, and all of them |
| 1:11.9 | are looking for a product to help manage it. Yet for many, periods are still an uncomfortable |
| 1:16.7 | and embarrassing topic. In some countries, the situation is far worse, with menstruating women |
| 1:22.4 | being stigmatised or simply unable to afford the products they need to maintain health and dignity. |
| 1:28.9 | Ruth Evans reports from Nepal on some of the challenges and solutions being developed |
| 1:33.4 | to help improve millions of lives. |
| 1:36.3 | In some parts of Nepal, especially the remote rural areas of the Far West, |
| 1:42.8 | menstruating women are considered impure. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.