International
‘Menstrual poverty’: Brazil tampon row gets political
AFP
Vanessa Moraes lives in a Rio de Janeiro slum, works multiple jobs to support her two sons and barely scrapes by on welfare.
So buying tampons and pads each month is hardly a top priority.
Like millions of women across Brazil, Moraes improvises with whatever she can when she gets her period — a long-taboo topic that took a political turn last month when President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed legislation to provide free menstrual supplies for the poor.
“Pads are expensive, so we use a piece of cloth, a pillowcase, a diaper, whatever we can,” says Moraes, whose sons are aged 11 and 12.
Her eldest, Hugo, has cerebral palsy, and has to wear diapers.
“Whenever one of my son’s diapers breaks, I think, ‘Oh, I’ll use that for a pad,’” Moraes tells AFP.
The tall 39-year-old demonstrates her technique, tearing the elastic strips off each side of a diaper, opening the absorbant middle and adding a piece of scrap cloth to make it more effective.
Moraes lives in Complexo do Alemao, a sprawling “favela” on Rio’s north side.
Much of her income from her jobs as a waitress and school-bus driver goes to caring for Hugo.
Even with the 1,100 reais ($200) she receives in government assistance each month, the family barely gets by, she says.
A pack of tampons or pads ranges in price from three to 10 reais in Brazil — a sum Moraes simply can’t afford.
Brazil, a country of 213 million people, has an estimated 60 million women and girls who get their period each month.
An estimated 28 percent of poor women suffer what is known as “menstrual poverty”, meaning they are unable to afford basic hygiene products.
Forced by necessity, they have found myriad solutions to deal with their periods: pieces of bread, cotton, paper or the “paninho” (little cloth), a piece of fabric that is washed and re-used.
But a lack of menstrual supplies keeps one in four girls home from school each month, according to a recent report by a United Nations Foundation program called Girl Up.
– ‘Matter of public health’ –
Moraes gets assistance from One by One, a local charity for impoverished disabled people and their families.
The organization provides equipment such as wheelchairs, as well as food and basic goods — including menstrual supplies.
Fifteen-year-old Karla Cristina de Almeida, another beneficiary, shares her monthly package with her sister — when they can.
“Sometimes we have one pack, sometimes we have none. When we don’t have any, I don’t even leave the house. So I miss school,” she says.
Women lined up at One by One’s recent handout of menstrual supplies.
One, Miriam Firmino, 51, remembered coming of age using a “paninho” — an experience she wants to spare her three daughters.
“To be able to afford tampons, we have to find them on sale. When we can’t, we get by however we can,” she says.
The problem has only grown worse with the coronavirus pandemic, whose economic fallout has hit hardest among the poor.
“With the pandemic and the economic crisis, a lot of the mothers we help tell us they’ve gone back to using ‘paninhos,’ paper, cotton or other materials when they menstruate,” says One by One president Teresa Stengel.
“They often complain of injuries and infections. Menstrual poverty is a public health problem.”
– Bolsonaro veto –
The issue became a topic of national conversation in October when Bolsonaro signed a bill into law promoting “menstrual health,” but used his line-item veto to block its promise of free menstrual supplies for more than five million low-income women and girls, arguing there was no funding for it.
The move has fueled scathing criticism of the far-right president, who has often been accused of misogyny and anti-women policies.
In response, Rio city hall and several other state and local governments have started giving out free tampons in public schools.
“My school has done more for Brazil than Bolsonaro. They gave out three packs of tampons to every girl,” quipped one Twitter user.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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