Fitri Lestari
Just Access Legal Fellow
menstrual health, period poverty and human rights, sexual and reproductive health, international women’s day 2025, climate crisis
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This is part 2 of a two-part post. To read part 1, click here.
The Climate Crisis and Menstrual Health
The climate crisis exacerbates the suffering of poor girls in Indonesia during menstruation. They lose their safe spaces, clean water, and human dignity while facing increasing health risks.
The climate crisis is intensifying the menstrual health struggles of poor girls in Indonesia. Rising temperatures, unpredictable weather patterns, and environmental disasters—including floods, droughts, and typhoons—disrupt access to clean water, sanitation, and menstrual hygiene products. When homes and schools are destroyed and subject to land grabbing, access to private spaces for menstrual management becomes nearly impossible.
When a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Lombok Island, a fourteen-year-old girl described it as the hardest time of her life. She and her family were forced to leave their home and live in a temporary shelter, during which time she had her period. She said:
At the same time, I felt uncomfortable because I was menstruating.
I felt scared, helpless, and in pain.
In the tent, there were no sanitary pads.
And at that time, after the earthquake, no stores were open.
The climate crisis exacerbates the suffering of poor girls in Indonesia during menstruation. Extreme weather events can displace thousands of victims, forcing many into temporary shelters where menstrual health is often overlooked. They lose their safe spaces, clean water, and human dignity while facing increasing health risks. At the same time, Relief efforts frequently neglect the needs of menstruating girls and women, failing to provide essential sanitary products. Many girls in flood-prone areas are forced to reuse menstrual pads or resort to unhygienic alternatives, increasing their risk of infections and other health conditions that can endanger their lives
The Need for Policy Reforms and Free Menstrual Products
To commemorate International Women’s Day 2025 and address these issues, comprehensive menstrual health policies must be integrated into Indonesia’s SRHR framework. The government must:
Provide free menstrual products in schools, workplaces, and public facilities to eliminate period poverty.
Improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure in low-income communities to ensure access to clean water.
Strengthen labour protections to ensure women have the right to menstrual leave without humiliation or job insecurity.
Implement comprehensive SRHR education in schools to normalise discussions about menstruation and reproductive health.
Challenge period stigma by promoting awareness campaigns that encourage open dialogue on menstruation as a normal biological function, not a source of shame.
Comprehensive menstrual health policies must be integrated into Indonesia’s sexual and reproductive health and rights framework.
Conclusion
Menstruation is not just a personal issue—it is a public health and human rights concern. Poor girls in Indonesia, especially those living in marginalised communities, face systemic barriers that hinder their access to menstrual health resources. The climate crisis further exacerbates these challenges, disrupting access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities while increasing the vulnerability of those affected by floods, droughts, and displacement. Without urgent action, the intersection of climate change and menstrual health will continue to deepen existing inequalities.
Ensuring menstrual health as part of SRHR is a fundamental step towards achieving gender justice, menstrual justice, sexual and reproductive health rights, the prevention of gender-based violence, the creation of a safe environment, and the end of period poverty. Until menstrual products are accessible, until clean water is guaranteed, and until period stigma is dismantled, girls and women will continue to bear the burden of an unjust system. The fight for menstrual equity is a fight for human rights, and it must be prioritised.
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