JEYETNA

Who are we ? ‘Jeyetna’ is an intersectional feminist collective founded in March 2021 and committed to menstrual justice by challenging taboos around menstruation in Lebanon and understanding menstrual experiences as collective and political issues. Based on the common euphemism to say, I have my period, ‘Jeyetna’ in Lebanese Arabic which means we are coming. The fact that a euphemism is even needed illustrates the shame and silence around menstrual experiences. Our story We began our journey 6 months after the blast that destroyed Beirut and propelled the country into an additional crisis on top of the ongoing crises: economic, financial, political and health (with the Covid-19 pandemic). After months of distress, it was time to bring a sustainable solution to the table. In November 2020, Evelina Llewellyn, film director, gathered an all-women Lebanese team to portray 10 stories of period poverty across the country, filming women from different socio-economic, geographic, and age groups. The team spent days with each interviewee building intimate portraits that are at the heart of Jeyetna - A 67-minute feature documentary. ‘Jeyetna the collective’ is a by-product of ‘Jeyetna the documentary’ and sets out to break the taboo and stigma around periods and period poverty by opening the subject and starting conversations. The context in which we operate In 2020, when the economic crisis worsened in Lebanon, the government subsidised products they considered essential such as razors and condensed milk: period products were excluded from the list. Old cloth, tissue rolls, paper, newspapers, used pads, etc...This is what more than 80% of women suffering from period poverty in Lebanon are using during their menstruation. The last 5 years in Lebanon have been rhythmed by a series of overlaying crises: 2019 marked the beginning of the financial collapse that would lead to socio-economic and political crises; this was layered by the COVID-19 pandemic that fragilize an already struggling and privatized healthcare system; on August 4 2020, the port explosion only worsened the situation, with hundreds of people killed and thousands of injured, and Beirut hospitals facing massive damage. Hyperinflation kept soaring, leaving most people to struggle to ensure their most basic needs: food, electricity, fuel, cooking gas, school fees, medical bills et period products. After 4 years of crises piling on top of each other, people in Lebanon currently endure a full-scale war, thousands of residential units have been bombed, leaving more than a million people internally displaced, living in emergency shelters or on the streets. What is Period Poverty? If you use the toilet in a public area or a coffee shop you will very likely find toilet paper available as this is considered an essential product... Then why are period products not equally available...? Around the world periods remain a taboo topic. Period products are still taxed as luxury products in many countries, blood is blue on period adverts on the television and periods are seen as a personal issue and not a collective one. All of these factors contribute directly to shame and stigma around menstruation, meaning that most women will grow up feeling silenced about their bodies and cycles. A direct consequence of this is period poverty. While there is no official definition of period poverty, at Jeyetna we define it as: The lack of access to period products and different options The lack of access to a private and clean bathroom The lack of access to a safe space / a person to talk about it The lack of access to education and knowledge about menstruation. Period poverty has profound impacts on both the physical and mental health of women, girls and people who menstruate, limiting their access to education and employment opportunities. A lack of access to clean facilities, menstrual products and caring medical professionals lead to serious health issues, as one may delay seeking medical care for minor problems that worsen over time, resulting in illness, depression and anxiety. People who menstruate endure lifelong feelings of shame and misunderstanding about their bodies due to social stigma. Access to menstrual care is a fundamental human right, and period poverty is a pressing issue of social justice. Our events Our aim is to shift the topic of periods from a personal issue to a collective one. By starting conversations, redefining menstruation, and approaching periods in a holistic and environmentally friendly way, we aim to normalize periods and make menstrual care accessible to all. Jeyetna provides solutions through education, sustainability (through the provision of reusable products that last up to 15 years) and the creation of safe spaces for participants to share a collective period experience. We tackle period poverty by organizing events that consist of: The screening of segments of the documentary. Each segment is followed by a Q&A discussion aimed at creating a safe space allowing participants to reflect on the content and share their experience, guided by Jeyetna’s discussion facilitator. An awareness session on period products exposing the reusable and disposable options (reusable pads, panties, menstrual cups, tampons, and pads), after which each of the participants gets the products of their choice, in addition to a hot water bottle to ease period cramps. The session also includes content from Marsa Sexual Health Center, with the distribution of informative leaflets about pap smears, STIs and birth control options. Additional activities: as of March 2022, we collaborate with Koun, an NGO giving yoga classes to marginalized communities, teaching the participants stretching and massage techniques to relieve period pain in a sustainable way. A collective mission Since July 2021 we have: Run 35 events in 8 different regions of Lebanon. Screened the documentary three times in France in collaboration with Cinema la Clef, les Valises pour Beyrouth and Règles Élémentaires. Collaborated with more than 25 groups and local and international NGOs and nonprofits Our target population We provide content for all people that menstruate in Lebanon regardless of their legal status. We strive to be as inclusive as possible and have organized specific events for under-represented communities (migrant workers, refugees, and the LGBTQ+ community).