Empowering women in Zanzibar with Asan menstrual cups

Nearly 2,500 women in Zanzibar will receive Asan menstrual cups, as part of a programme run by Michezo Kwa Maendeleo (MIMA). 

Founded by Fatma Ahmed, MIMA is a nonprofit that helps women from diverse backgrounds break through societal challenges and achieve their full potential. MIMA’s programmes include leadership development, sports participation, and menstrual health education in partnership with Asan.

In 2024, MIMA began distributing reusable Asan period cups to diverse groups – including security and defense staff, young athletes, and women with disabilities. Nearly 350 women have adopted Asan cups so far, and there is growing awareness and demand for cups among communities in Zanzibar.

  • 339

    Women in Zanzibar use Asan cups

  • $71,190

    Saved in household spending on pads

  • 8,899kg

    Waste stopped from going to landfill

  • 88,140

    Days of school/work gained

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Period poverty in Zanzibar, Tanzania

There are over 14 million menstruating women in Tanzania. While menstruation is a natural process, it is often associated with impurity and believed to be a private matter in many parts of the country. As a result, women can struggle to access safe period care, and to receive the education about healthy period management.

Zanzibar is an island off the coast of mainland Tanzania, with a population of 1.8 million people, equally divided between urban centres and villages. Zanzibar is home to a diverse range of ethnic groups and Swahili is the most widely spoken language on the island. 

53% of women in Zanzibar don't have access to safe period care. This is due to a range of challenges, such as lack of access to sanitary products, poor toilet facilities at school, and societal taboos.

Even where pads are available, they are expensive. The cost of pads for a single girl each money is 2,000 TSZ (approximately $2 USD), which is a sizeable expense for most households. As a result, many women end up using cloth rags to manage their period. This can make participation in simple daily activities, such as attending school and work, a major challenge during periods.

Given these challenges, a menstrual health program is vital to address the gap in access to education and safe period products.

Why is the Asan cup a good solution for women in Zanzibar?

The Asan menstrual cup is an insertable period product designed at the Harvard Innovation Lab. It is a bell-shaped device that collects your menstrual flow. The Asan cup has a patented design with a removal ring, making it extremely easy to use. One cup can be re-used for 10 years, and averts the waste of 2,500 sanitary pads.

The Asan cup is perfectly suited to the needs of women in Zanzibar for the following reasons:

1. Affordable: A single Asan cup can be used for ten years, enabling each woman to save over 240,000 TZS ($90 USD) in this period.

2. Comfortable: The Asan cup holds three times more fluid than a pad and can safely be worn for 12 hours. Users cannot even feel that they are on their period.

3. Discreet: The cup is small and can easily be stored in private.

4. Better health: Those who switch to the Asan cup experience a reduction in rashes, discomfort, UTIs and reproductive tract infections.

5. Mobility: Daily tasks such as standing for long hours, training for sporting events, and  managing periods with mobility constraints are made easy during periods.

Program overview

A team of 10 trainers from MIMA implemented this menstrual health program over a period of three months.

This program was initiated through the collaborative effort of various organisations. This included the Ministry of Health, (including key stakeholder Dr Salim Slim, Director of Preventative Services), the Zanzibar National Sports Council, the Reproductive Maternal Newborn and Child Health Development as well as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The program reached 419 individuals, distributing 339 Asan menstrual cups. After distribution, the MIMA staff conducted extensive feedback sessions to understand the uptake of menstrual cups.

Women in security and defence

MIMA collaborated with the following organisations to broaden their reach in security and defense. This included Jeshi la Kujenga Uchumi (JKU), Kikosi Maalum cha Kuzuia Magendo (KMKM), ZIMAMOTO na UOKOZI and Kikosi cha Vyombo vya Ziada (KVZ).

Women in security and defence face various challenges to manage their period comfortably as their day-to-day work includes standing for long hours, attending parades, and wearing white uniform.

By engaging with this group of women, MIMA is working to enable key members of society to thrive at work without worrying about their period.

Across the security and defense forces, women shared incredibly positive experiences about using the Asan cup. They highlighted experiencing far greater comfort compared to pads, and being able to easily do parades and be on their feet all day. They also appreciated the mutual support from colleagues that arose from the programme.

Some women from security forces initiated informal networks within their communities to distribute Asan cups to more women in need.

Women with disabilities

MIMA partnered with local networks of women with disabilities to address the challenges these communities face in everyday life, including mobility constraints and difficulty managing periods.

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These sessions offered meaningful insights, especially for women with disabilities, uncovering challenges related to cup positioning and fears of leakage. Despite these initial challenges, many women found the cups to be an extremely effective option.

Some attendees came to the sessions with their daughters, showing a desire to promote intergenerational learning and menstrual health education. 

Women in sports

In collaboration with local sports clubs such as Warrior Queens Football Club and Karafuu Girls Football Club, MIMA reached young female athletes who often struggle with managing their period while training and competing in sporting events.

Asan cups are perfectly suited to athletes as they provide: 

  1. Freedom of movement
  2. Longer wear time so no need to change products mid-training
  3. No odor which provides players with comfort in close-contact sports
  4. Confidence booster during competition as there is no worry about leaks 

Asan menstrual cups were distributed to The Warriors Football Team in August 2024 prior to their Women’s Champions League tournament in Ethiopia.

Program outcome and next steps

The program underscored a growing demand for menstrual cups in local communities across Zanzibar, especially in rural areas. Nearly half the attendees required a continuation of the programme in their communities, highlighting a crucial need for sustained menstrual health education and wider distribution of Asan cups.

In partnership with Asan, MIMA is committed to scaling their menstrual health initiative in Zanzibar. The second phase of this program will involve providing menstrual health education and access to Asan cups to 2000 more women.

Through this expansion, MIMA is working to critically address menstrual health practices and enable the acceptance of menstrual cups in Zanzibar.

This report is written in collaboration with MIMA. Asan is grateful to the MIMA team for their dedication to ending period poverty and promoting safe, sustainable periods  in Zanzibar.