09-08-2025
Sanitary pads are not props!
In many rural parts of Sarawak and Sabah, access to clean water and hygiene products, including sanitary pads, is still a daily struggle. This is not something to mock, as it is a reality that we must address with dignity. — Photo by Chang Yi
THAT was exactly what happened in Negeri Sembilan last week when the DAP Veterans Club staged a press conference wearing sanitary pads as face masks to protest the appointment of Vincent Wu, a Johor resident as senator, instead of a local from Negeri Sembilan itself.
It is legitimate to protest an 'outsider' being chosen for a post that could easily be given to someone from Negeri Sembilan.
But the moment the protestors turned sanitary pads into tools of ridicule, they crossed a line – one that many women, myself included, find deeply offensive.
Sanitary pads are not political props. They are basic necessities for women's health, dignity, and hygiene.
They are not symbols of shame, weakness, or ridicule – and using them to 'mock silence' degrades not only the protest, but also the women whose lives revolve around this natural biological need.
The protest leader, Lee Kong Hing, said the custom-made sanitary pad masks represented the state committee's 'airtight silence' over the senator's appointment.
There are countless more respectful ways to criticise leaders of their 'silence'.
It can be a strip of black tape across the mouth, or simply turning one's back.
It is definitely a tone-deaf decision to choose sanitary pads, which have been used to shame, marginalise and silence women.
The act of this group of DAP veterans play into outdated notions that menstruation is something dirty, something to laugh at.
The protest trivialised women's experiences and reinforced the stigma that generations of activists had worked so hard to dismantle.
More upsetting still is how disconnected this stunt is from the realities of women in Malaysia, especially in rural Sarawak and Sabah.
Do these men know that many women and girls in the interiors of Borneo still struggle to access sanitary pads?
Do they know that in some longhouses and rural settlements, girls skip school during their periods because they don't have proper menstrual hygiene supplies?
In my own experience visiting rural communities, I've seen girls using cloth or tissue, and women too embarrassed to talk about their needs.
In some schools, there are no proper disposal systems for pads – forcing young girls to hide them, or to go without.
So when I see sanitary pads turned into protest costumes, it feels not just insensitive, but mocking.
It makes light of a hardship many of our fellow Malaysians still quietly endure.
Let me put it bluntly: in rural Sarawak and Sabah, sanitary pads are not props – they are privileges.
The irony is this: the protest was meant to criticise silence, but now the protest itself has drowned out the issue.
Instead of focusing on why the Negeri Sembilan party leadership handed the senate post to someone from Johor, the conversation has shifted to the protestors' lack of judgment.
That's a strategic failure.
Worse, they have alienated many supporters, especially women, who might otherwise share their concern about the centralisation of political appointments.
There are many talented local leaders in Negeri Sembilan who deserve representation, but when you wrap that message in misogyny, it loses credibility.
It becomes a joke — and women once again become collateral damage.
To the DAP veterans involved: protest if you must. Demand accountability. Uphold your grassroots ideals.
But don't sacrifice decency in the process. Women are not symbols. Menstruation is not shameful. Sanitary pads are not costumes.
If you truly claim to represent the 'rakyat' (people) — including the women — then you must apologise for this display.
Not just to your party, but to the many Malaysian women, rural and urban, who were hurt by your choice of protest.
A little humility would go a long way.
And to political parties of all stripes: if you want to inspire the next generation, especially women and youths, then start by treating women's bodies and experiences with respect.
That includes understanding what sanitary pads mean — not to you, but to the women who need them.
Let us also take this moment to talk, seriously, about period poverty.
If a few of the Negeri Sembilan veterans had channelled their energy into supplying pads to rural girls, or building menstrual hygiene awareness, the nation would have applauded.
Now that would have been a protest worth making. malaysia politics sanitary pads
