Meet XARI Africa, a non-profit tackling period poverty in Northern Nigeria.
Here is how XARI Africa has educated over 1,500 girls on Menstrual hygiene and Sexual and Reproductive Health
In the rural areas of Nigeria, many women struggle with period poverty. Due to cultural and religious barriers, millions lack information about menstruation and access to hygiene products. In Northern Nigeria, discussing sexual health is considered a taboo. However, this same region has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy, child marriage, and other Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) issues.
Growing up in the North herself and experiencing firsthand the effects of this knowledge gap on girls and women, Efe Johnson, a social impact activist, founded XARI Africa, a non-profit focused on breaking the taboo around sexual and reproductive health in Nigeria and fighting for social and gender equity for girls. The NGO offers SRH education, health rights, and resources, and it has kept girls in school since its inception in 2018.
According to Efe Johnson,
“I remember being in secondary school when I got my first period. I was embarrassed, instantly sick, ashamed, and [to make things] even worse, my uniform had gotten stained, and I didn’t know what to do. I wrapped my cardigan around my waist to avoid further embarrassment and took the very long walk of shame home. Many years and countless periods after, it saddens my heart that this is still the case for many young girls because a topic like Menstruation is still considered “ Forbidden, taboo, or dirty.”
She also added:
“Girls lack access to their right to information on Sexual and Reproductive Health because parents, teachers, or guardians still find it too uncomfortable to talk about. Even grown women still do not know much about Sexual and reproductive health, ovulation cycles, conception, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, contraception, and child spacing, et al., because most of us had to just “Woman up” and wing it! Wear a pad and move on with your life. ”
Starting out was not easy, as it was very challenging to talk about sex, teenage pregnancy, menstruation, and other sexual and reproductive health issues in Northern Nigeria. As it is a region strongly tied to religious and cultural traditions, conversations about these things are considered taboo. Hence, parents and educators usually avoid approaching the subject, leaving questions that teenagers might have about sexual and reproductive health unanswered. These questions include what will happen to a girl’s body when she menstruates, when most girls should expect their first period, and how to track them on a calendar.
Understanding that this knowledge gap and stigma on menstruation can only be solved through active advocacy and education, Johnson and her team set out to tackle the taboo and shame cycle around the issues that affect women and girls.
Johnson, who has been a social activist since her school days, has about seven years of experience in advocacy, organizing community development projects, and social enterprises. Her track record is evident through her achievements and international recognition. In 2022, the government of Haiti Islands recognized her for her service to humanity through the ‘PeaceX Bookpecker’ project, where she created a curriculum and lectured online to help rehabilitate out-of-school children who were affected by earthquakes and violent weather conditions.
She believes her social impact experience prepared her well for her work with Xari Africa.
“Everything I have done has led me here. From volunteering for other organizations as just a teenager, growing a passion for change-making, to working in and leading several diverse teams gaining experience. It’s all led me here,” she said.
To make sexual and reproductive health(SRH) education easily accessible to girls and young women, Johnson wrote a book called “Just period it.” Her book provides quality education on forbidden SRH topics in unconventional ways.
In an interview with daily trust, Efe said, “Through my book, ‘Just period it’, over 1,500 girls in northern Nigeria have received free education on menstruation and learned how to calculate their cycles.”
This laudable achievement comes almost two years after the launch of her book. It serves as a motivation to Efe and her team to continue striving to get more teenagers and adolescent girls enlightened about this vital part of their lives.
Recounting her most memorable moment while running the nonprofit so far, she said:
“It [my most memorable moment] has to be being invited to share knowledge with adolescent girls. That is exactly why we exist as an organization, and it’s always beautiful when others key into that. Plus, young women are unpredictable; the questions, the fun, the games, and knowledge sharing. It’s fulfilling to be part of shaping the next generation of women in our own little way.”
She also admits that having over 1500 copies of her book “Just period it” out in the hands of girls across Nigeria and some parts of Africa is a truly incredible accomplishment for her and her team.
She says, “ We are forging ahead to do even greater things for girls and by girls this year.”
One of Xari Africa’s recent endeavors is a short story on puberty titled “Our Halimas’ Delimma’s.”
Follow Xari Africa on social media for updates on their work and how to be a part of it.
Stay tuned.
