First Lady Fazna Ahmed says it is important to provide accurate and age-appropriate information to children and affirmed the importance of creating more appropriate terms in the Dhivehi language to describe children undergoing puberty and the effects of it.
Madam Fazna made the comments at a high-level panel discussion of a webinar on Menstrual Health Management and Sustainable Periods yesterday.
The first lady spoke on a variety of topics during the high-level panel discussion of the webinar.
She discussed menstrual health and wellness, focussing on efforts to subdue the stigma surrounding menstruation in society by increasing puberty awareness. She spotlighted educating young girls on menstruation as it affects the health and personal hygiene of the girl and also the environment based on the menstrual products she chooses to use.
The First Lady also made a special note that the terms and phrases in Dhivehi describe puberty as "becoming an adult".
Madam Fazna emphasized that as puberty generally occurs between ages 7-12 years, going through puberty does not make that child an adult. In this vein, she highlighted the importance of providing accurate and age-appropriate information to children and affirmed the importance of creating more appropriate terms in the Dhivehi language to describe children undergoing puberty and the effects of it.
First Lady Fazna Ahmed spoke at length on the challenges in addressing the issue of low puberty awareness in society, highlighting the social norm of treating the subject of menstruation as taboo.
She stated that one way to face these challenges would be to educate students early by integrating puberty awareness into the school curriculum on a policy level, with parental consent.
Along with the First Lady, the webinar was joined by government policymakers, health sector representatives, advocates and civil society organisations.
