WHEN THE BODY DOESN’T STOP – by Hannah Kintum

Menstrual Health, Dignity and the Gendered Impact of Incarceration in Nigeria

Opening

The prison gate closes behind a woman, but her body does not stop.

She still wakes up hungry. She still worries about her children. She still experiences pain, anxiety and illness. And every few weeks, her body continues a process that millions of women experience as an ordinary part of life: menstruation.

Outside custody, managing a period may mean buying sanitary pads, asking a relative for supplies, finding a private bathroom, or seeking medical attention when bleeding or pain becomes abnormal. Inside a correctional centre, those choices can be constrained by the institution itself. A woman cannot simply leave to purchase what she needs. Her access to water, sanitation, privacy, menstrual materials and healthcare is shaped by the environment in which she is confined.

This is why menstrual health should not be treated as a minor hygiene issue. It is a question of health, dignity, privacy, sanitation, equality and institutional responsibility. The question is not merely whether a woman has a sanitary pad. It is whether she can manage menstruation safely, privately and with dignity.

A Small Population with Specific Needs

As of 29 June 2026, the Nigerian Correctional Service reported 82,195 people in custody nationwide: 80,234 men and 1,961 women. Women therefore represented about 2% of the custodial population. Of the women in custody, 550 were convicted and 1,411 were awaiting trial. Roughly 72% of the female custodial population was awaiting trial at the time of the official count. [1]

The size of the female custodial population should not determine whether its needs receive attention. In fact, the small proportion of women can create a policy blind spot: systems designed around the majority population can overlook needs that are specific to women.

Menstruation is one of the clearest examples. Women do not stop menstruating because they are incarcerated, and the fact that many women are awaiting trial makes the principle of dignity even more important. Custody restricts liberty; it should not become a justification for neglecting basic health needs.

Menstrual Health is More than Sanitary Pads

The World Health Organization estimates that about 2.1 billion women and adolescent girls worldwide menstruate. WHO also estimates that around 500 million people who menstruate lack access to the full range of materials, facilities and services needed to support menstrual health, including appropriate menstrual materials, water, sanitation, hygiene and waste-management facilities. [2]

WHO’s definition is important because it moves the conversation beyond the product itself. Menstrual health includes access to accurate information; effective and affordable menstrual materials; acceptable water, sanitation and hygiene facilities; timely diagnosis and treatment for menstrual difficulties; and freedom from menstrual stigma. [2]

For a woman in custody, these requirements intersect with the realities of institutional life. If water is limited, privacy is inadequate, toilets are poorly maintained or disposal systems are unsuitable, the presence of sanitary pads alone does not guarantee menstrual health.

What Nigerian Evidence Tells Us

One of the most directly relevant Nigerian studies is a 2020 cross-sectional survey of female prisoners in three prisons in Kano. The researchers studied menstrual patterns and hygiene practices among consenting female prisoners. The study found that 32 participants (33.0%) reported pain during menstruation; 83 (85.6%) reported bathing once during their menstrual period; 81.4% changed their absorbent twice daily; and 80% reported using the toilet to dispose of used menstrual absorbents. The researchers concluded that menstrual hygiene among the participants was relatively poor. [3]

These figures should be interpreted carefully. The Kano study is not a national survey, and its findings cannot be assumed to represent every female custodial facility in Nigeria today. What it does provide is valuable facility-level evidence showing that menstrual hygiene has been measurable as a distinct health concern within Nigerian prisons.

The evidence also sits within a wider African pattern. A recent narrative synthesis of research on menstrual hygiene in African correctional services identified recurring barriers involving inadequate sanitary products, inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, stigma and lack of institutional support. The review included evidence from Nigeria and other African countries and noted a persistent shortage of empirical research focused specifically on menstrual hygiene in correctional facilities. [4]

The evidence gap is itself significant. If correctional authorities do not routinely collect sex-disaggregated and menstrual-health-related data, it becomes difficult to know how many women lack products, how often supplies run out, whether water and privacy are adequate, or how frequently women seek medical care for menstrual pain or abnormal bleeding.

The Gendered Impact of Incarceration

Menstrual health becomes a gender issue because the correctional environment is not experienced identically by men and women. A system may have a single set of rules, facilities or routines, yet those arrangements can have different consequences for people whose biological and social needs differ.

A 2025 qualitative study of 31 female inmates at the Abakaliki custodial centre in Nigeria provides a broader illustration of this gendered experience. Through open-ended interviews, the researchers found disparities in prison rules and administration that disadvantaged women, including restrictions on movement and access to educational, vocational, recreational and employment opportunities. The study argued that custodial practices can reproduce gendered disadvantage rather than simply treating everyone neutrally. [5]

That finding matters for menstrual health because it shows why a generic “inmate welfare” approach may not be sufficient. Gender-responsive correctional care requires institutions to ask what women specifically need to remain healthy and dignified while in custody.

The Law Already Recognises that Women have Specific Needs

Nigeria’s legal framework provides an important starting point. Section 34 of the Nigerian Correctional Service Act 2019 requires separate facilities for female inmates and directs the Correctional Service to provide facilities addressing the special medical and nutritional needs of female inmates, including pregnant women, nursing mothers and babies in custody. The provision expressly includes prenatal and antenatal healthcare and sanitary provisions for female inmates. [6]

International standards reinforce the same principle. The United Nations Bangkok Rules state that accommodation for women prisoners should include the facilities and materials required to meet women’s specific hygiene needs, including sanitary towels provided free of charge and a regular supply of water, particularly for women who are menstruating. [7]

The issue, therefore, is not whether women’s menstrual needs are legitimate. They are already recognised in law and international correctional standards. The harder question is implementation: Are the required materials consistently available? Are water and sanitation facilities adequate? Are women able to access healthcare for menstrual disorders? Are there mechanisms for monitoring and accountability?

The Health Consequences are Not Only About Hygiene

Menstrual health also intersects with physical and mental wellbeing. WHO notes that more than two out of three women and girls experience pain with menstrual bleeding, while heavy menstrual bleeding can contribute to iron-deficiency anaemia. [2]

For women outside custody, severe pain or abnormal bleeding may prompt a visit to a clinic, a change in medication or a decision to rest. For a woman in custody, access to those choices depends on the healthcare and referral systems available within the institution.

Stigma adds another layer. WHO notes that negative attitudes and shame around menstruation can affect health and wellbeing and can discourage people from seeking help. [2] In a setting where privacy is already limited, managing a private bodily process can become emotionally difficult as well as physically uncomfortable.

This is why menstrual health belongs within conversations about mental and psychosocial wellbeing. The issue is not that menstruation itself causes poor mental health. Rather, pain, stigma, lack of privacy, uncertainty about supplies and the loss of control over basic bodily routines can compound the stress of incarceration.

From Charity to Institutional Responsibility

One of the most important policy questions is whether menstrual products should be treated as charitable items or as part of correctional healthcare and welfare obligations.

Donations and civil-society interventions can provide immediate relief, and they can be valuable partners in identifying needs. But a predictable biological process should not depend entirely on unpredictable external goodwill.

A sustainable approach would institutionalise menstrual health within correctional planning and budgeting. That means reliable procurement and supply of appropriate menstrual materials; access to clean water; functional and private sanitation facilities; safe disposal mechanisms; menstrual-health education; and access to healthcare for painful, heavy or otherwise abnormal menstruation.

The goal is not to create a special privilege for women. It is to make the correctional environment capable of responding to needs that already exist.

CELSIR’s Role in the Wider Picture

This discussion aligns closely with CELSIR’s rights- and dignity-centred approach to justice-impacted people. CELSIR describes its work across legal support, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, re-entry, research and advocacy, with a focus on systemic inequities and the dignity of people who have gone through the justice system. [8]

CELSIR has also documented health interventions in correctional facilities. Its August 2025 Chronicle described an HIV awareness and screening campaign at Agodi involving male and female facilities, correctional officers and a state Ministry of Health representative. [9] CELSIR has separately described medical outreach at Ikoyi Correctional Centre and emphasised the importance of healthcare for people behind prison walls. [10]

Its work with women also extends beyond custody. Ruby House, established by CELSIR in partnership with A New Way of Life, is described by CELSIR as Nigeria’s first halfway home specifically for formerly incarcerated women. It provides accommodation, counselling, skills development and facilities responding to the needs of nursing mothers and pregnant women. [11]

That continuum is important. A woman’s wellbeing should not be considered only at the point of release. Rehabilitation and reintegration are stronger when physical health, mental wellbeing, dignity and basic needs are addressed throughout the justice journey.

What a Gender-Responsive Menstrual-Health Approach Could Look Like

1. Treat menstrual materials as essential health and welfare Correctional facilities should maintain predictable stock levels and avoid relying on ad hoc donations for routine needs.
2. Build menstrual health into correctional budgets and procurement A recurring biological need should have a recurring institutional response.
3. Strengthen water, sanitation and privacy. Women need functional toilets, water for washing, private changing spaces and safe disposal systems.
4. Include menstrual health in routine Women should be able to report severe pain, heavy bleeding and other menstrual difficulties and receive timely assessment and treatment.
5. Provide accurate menstrual-health Education should address menstrual cycles, hygiene, pain, abnormal bleeding, available products and when to seek medical attention.
6. Train correctional and healthcare Staff should understand that menstrual health is a health and dignity issue, not a source of embarrassment or punishment.
7. Collect better NCoS and partners should consider routine sex-disaggregated indicators on menstrual-product availability, WASH conditions, healthcare access and complaints relating to menstrual health.
8. Include women in programme design and Interventions should be informed by the lived experiences of women in custody rather than designed entirely from outside.
9. Strengthen civil-society partnerships without outsourcing Organisations such as CELSIR can contribute research, advocacy, health interventions and accountability support, while the correctional system retains responsibility for meeting basic needs.

Conclusion: Dignity should Not Stop at the Prison Gate

Menstrual health may appear to be a small issue within the enormous challenges facing Nigeria’s correctional system. It is not.

It is a window into how institutions respond when people have very little control over their circumstances.

A woman in custody has not stopped being a woman because she has lost her liberty. She may be awaiting trial. She may be serving a sentence. She may be a mother, daughter, sister, worker or caregiver. Whatever her legal status, her body continues to function and her health needs continue to exist.

Nigeria already has a legal framework that recognises the special health and sanitary needs of female inmates. International standards provide further guidance. Research from Nigeria and across Africa shows that menstrual hygiene can be compromised by inadequate materials, sanitation, water, privacy and institutional support. [3][4][6][7]

The next step is therefore not simply another awareness campaign. It is consistent implementation, dedicated resources, better data, responsive healthcare and meaningful accountability.

Because a correctional system should be judged not only by how securely it holds people, but also by how humanely it treats them.

And sometimes, dignity begins with something as basic as ensuring that when a woman gets her period, she has what she needs.

 

Research Questions

• Primary question: How does access—or lack of access—to menstrual products, sanitation, privacy and healthcare affect the health, dignity and wellbeing of women in Nigerian correctional centres?
• What menstrual-health needs do women in Nigerian correctional centres have?
• What does Nigerian law require regarding the health and sanitary needs of female inmates?
• What evidence exists about women’s actual experiences managing menstruation in Nigerian correctional facilities?
• How do products, water, sanitation, privacy and disposal facilities shape menstrual-health outcomes?
• How does menstrual health intersect with physical and psychosocial wellbeing?
• What does the experience of women in custody reveal about gender-responsive correctional policy?
• What practical reforms could NCoS, government agencies and civil-society partners implement?

 

Methodology

This article uses secondary mixed-methods research. Quantitative evidence includes official NCoS custodial statistics, WHO estimates and numerical findings from published studies. Qualitative evidence includes interview-based research on women in custody and documented programme experience. No new interviews were conducted for this draft, so it should not be described as original primary qualitative research. The forthcoming CELSIR/project-manager report should be reviewed and incorporated once approved, especially if it contains facility-specific findings.

Research note: This is a secondary-research draft. It combines official Nigerian Correctional Service data, published Nigerian and African research, WHO guidance, international correctional standards and CELSIR’s published work. It does not claim to be original primary qualitative research.

References

• Nigerian Correctional Statistics Summary: Inmate population by convicted and awaiting-trial persons, 29 June 2026. https://corrections.gov.ng/statistics_summary
• World Health Menstrual health. 18 June 2026. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/menstrual-health
• Rabiu, , Sani, F.M. C Daneji, S.M. (2020). Menstrual Pattern and Hygiene among Female Prisoners in Kano, North-western Nigeria. Journal of Biomedical Research and Clinical Practice, 3(1), 217–222. DOI: 10.46912/jbrcp3i1.2020133.
• Rasweswe, M., Mothiba, T.M. C Bopape, M.A. Menstrual hygiene practices in African correctional services: a narrative synthesis of barriers. International Journal of Prison Health, 22(1), 82–98. DOI: 10.1108/IJOPH-12-2024-0079.
• Nnam, U., Arua, M.C., Dastile, N.P., Arua, C.C. C Eni, O. (2025). ‘Nowhere is safe for us’: An analysis of gender discrimination against female inmates in a male correctional institution. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 81, 100745. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlcj.2025.100745.
• Federal Republic of Nigerian Correctional Service Act, 2019, Section 34 (Female inmates).
• United United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules), Rule 5.
• What We Do / Research C Advocacy. https://celsir.org/what-we-do/
• CELSIR Chronicle: August 2025 Updates. https://celsir.org/celsir-chronicle-august-2025-updates/
• CELSIR Commends Federal Government’s Approval of Medical Personnel Healthcare in Correctional Facilities. https://celsir.org/celsir-commends-federal-governments-approval-of-medical-personnel-healthcare-in-correctional-facilities/
• Reentry Support – The Ruby House. https://celsir.org/what-we-do/reentry-support/