Addis Ababa (AFP) – In a cramped workshop in the heart of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, around ten seamstresses work to make reusable sanitary napkins in a country where many women are deprived of them, due to their cost and the taboo surrounding periods.

Published on: 09/11/2026 - 08:26

The atmosphere is one of concentration, and the clicking of sewing machines drowns out the conversations of the employees of Han's Care, which is working on its own scale to solve a major problem experienced by women in Ethiopia.

In this conservative society, periods are considered a taboo and a "shame" of which Hanan Ahmed, the founder of this small business, was a victim.

Nearly 43% of the population of Africa's second most populous country (more than 130 million inhabitants) also lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, and sanitary napkins, massively imported from China, are luxury products there.

"I was one of those girls who had very heavy periods. So as soon as they came, they would stain my clothes and the chair I sat on and because of that, I wouldn't come to school for a week or two, making up excuses," says Ms. Hanan, 41.

After a career as a stylist and flight attendant, she notes that "certain situations of shame that occurred 20 years ago still exist today." And decides to leave everything to start Han's Care.

In Ethiopia, barely 28% of women “report having everything they need to manage their periods”, according to a study published in 2017 by the American Johns Hopkins University.

And a woman living below the poverty line must devote “43% of her monthly budget to purchasing just two packs of disposable sanitary napkins,” notes the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

This burden "forces young girls to miss school, deprives women of income and pushes many of them to resort to dangerous solutions", also points out the UN organization.

“Excluded from the home”

In rural areas, for example, they "use bits of mattress or dirty socks" during their periods, which often causes infections, Hanan Ahmed points out.

Han's Care therefore designs cotton sanitary napkins, washable and reusable for up to two years, of which it can produce up to 1,000 units per day.

These products are not available in pharmacies but are purchased by patrons, notably banks, who then distribute them in different regions of the country.

Tsege Woldu Abate, who has worked in the company for five years, recounts her first period, when she was 13: "I didn't talk to my family about it (...). I was afraid to broach the subject." The 30-year-old seamstress, from a rural region, says she is “proud” of her work because it is “very useful for girls”.

The situation today remains "more or less the same" in the countryside, notes Hanan Ahmed, who tries to trivialize talk about the rules, particularly on his company's social networks.

“Within certain tribes and religions, when a young girl has her period, she is excluded from the home,” regrets the founder of Han's Care, who would like more support from the Ethiopian authorities.

But progress on this subject is real in Addis Ababa, she rejoices.

In the Nigat Kokeb school, located in the capital, a distribution of sanitary napkins is organized for around ten young students.

Thanks to awareness-raising work and donations of sanitary napkins, “no girl misses school,” says teacher Tigist Shewangizaw.

© 2026 AFP

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