LONDON: A ‘period emoji’ on mobile devices could help break the taboo of menstruation, according to an international child rights group, which is pushing for an icon to help highlight the stigma that girls experience when they menstruate.
Menstruation is still taboo in many countries around the world, where it’s often considered embarrassing or shameful. Women refer to periods using some 5,000 euphemisms, such as “on the rag” and “Bloody Mary,” a 2016 survey of 90,000 people in 190 countries found.
“Girls and women have told us about the embarrassment and shame they suffer when it’s their period. We need to make it easier to talk about something that is part of everyday life,” said Danny Vannucchi, Plan International’s campaigns manager.
While there are symbols for avocado, a telescope, and even a unicorn, menstruation is not represented as an ‘emoji,’ a small icon on smartphones and tablets commonly used to express emotions or physical things.
But that is something Plan International wants to change. The charity last week launched five ‘period emojis’ and invited the public to vote for their preferred icon. As of Monday, more than 15,000 people had voted, it said.
The winning design will be submitted to coding consortium Unicode for consideration, which distributes emojis across mobile devices.
“We’re not saying that an emoji would solve all of these problems, but it will start a conversation, and raise awareness of the challenges women and girls face worldwide — and that can only be a good thing,” Vannucchi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
He said issues related to reproduction and the sexual health of girls are often considered “dirty,” so girls are forced to keep quiet about menstruation which adds to the taboo.
“It’s completely normal, but in many settings there is still a false belief that menstruation is dirty and shameful,” he said.
“These taboos can have a damaging impact on the lives of girls and adolescents, from missing school because they face bullying or unfair treatment, to causing infections due to a lack of menstrual hygiene education and products.”
On any given day more than 800 million women between 15 and 49 have their period. However, globally 1.25 billion women do not have access to a toilet during menstruation, according to the charity WaterAid.
The United Nations estimates that due to a lack of facilities, one in 10 girls in Africa will miss school during their period and will eventually drop out of school as a result.
Charity calls for ‘period emoji’ to address taboo of menstruation
Charity calls for ‘period emoji’ to address taboo of menstruation
Julio Iglesias calls sexual abuse allegations against him ‘absolutely untrue’
- “I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness,” Iglesias said
- A Spanish high court received formal allegations against Iglesias on Jan. 5, officials said
MADRID: Grammy-winning singer Julio Iglesias on Friday denied allegations that he sexually assaulted two former employees, calling the accusations “absolutely untrue.”
Media reports from earlier this week alleged Iglesias had sexually and physically assaulted two women who worked at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas between January and October 2021. A day later, Spanish prosecutors said they were studying the allegations.
“With deep sorrow, I respond to the accusations made by two people who previously worked at my home. I deny having abused, coerced or disrespected any woman. These accusations are absolutely false and cause me great sadness,” Iglesias said on Instagram.
Spanish news outlet elDiario.es and US television network Univision Noticias published the joint, three-year investigation on Jan. 13 into Iglesias’ alleged misconduct.
A Spanish high court received formal allegations against Iglesias on Jan. 5, officials said. Iglesias could potentially be taken in front of the Madrid-based court, which can try alleged crimes by Spanish citizens while they are abroad, according to its press office.
A rights group representing the two women said they were accusing Iglesias of “crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity such as sexual harassment” and of “human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor and servitude.” Women’s Link Worldwide said the two women had presented the complaint to the Spanish court.
The 82-year-old is one of the world’s most successful musical artists, having sold more than 300 million records in more than a dozen languages. After making his start in Spain, Iglesias won immense popularity in the US and wider world in the 1970s and 1980s. He is the father of pop singer Enrique Iglesias.
In 1988, he won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Performance for his album “Un Hombre Solo.” He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys in 2019.
“I had never experienced such malice, but I still have the strength for people to know the full truth and to defend my dignity against such a serious affront,” Iglesias wrote on social media.
He thanked those who had sent messages of support.
