By Adeyinka Adeniran
Teens Smart Builder Initiative (TESMI Nigeria) has opened applications for 50 girls from private secondary schools across Lagos State to participate in the co-drafting of a Menstrual Justice Charter under its #BleedWithDignity: Centering Girls’ Voices for Menstrual Policy Reform in Lagos project.
The initiative is designed to create a structured opportunity for girls to contribute their experiences, priorities and ideas to an advocacy process focused on menstrual health and hygiene, dignity, school WASH, access to appropriate menstrual support, stigma, menstrual education and related policy issues.
The project is being implemented by TESMI Nigeria.
At the heart of #BleedWithDignity is a simple principle: girls should not only be consulted about issues that affect them. Their experiences and priorities should also help shape the advocacy documents and conversations that seek to address those issues.
Rather than treating girls simply as recipients of menstrual-health information or services, TESMI Nigeria is seeking to involve them as rights-holders and contributors to a process that will document and articulate priorities around menstrual justice.
Through the recruitment process, 50 girls will be selected to participate in the charter co-drafting process, subject to the project’s eligibility, safeguarding and consent requirements.
“Girls should not only be recipients of menstrual-health interventions; their experiences and priorities should inform advocacy:, says Oluwatosin Adeshina, Community Engagement Officer, TESMI Nigeria
The selected participants will have an opportunity to contribute their perspectives to the development of the Charter and help ensure that girls’ priorities are reflected in the advocacy process.
Justifying why girls’ voices matter, TESMI noted that menstrual health is closely connected to dignity, education, WASH, access to information, supportive school environments and the ability of girls to participate fully in school and community life.
Yet conversations about these issues can sometimes happen without meaningful participation from the girls most directly affected.
#BleedWithDignity seeks to address this gap by creating space for girls to contribute to the conversations that concern them.
The body noted that the Charter is therefore not intended to represent the voice of TESMI Nigeria alone, stressing that the recruitment of the 50 girls is part of an intentional effort to bring girls’ perspectives into the development of a document that can support wider advocacy and policy conversations around menstrual justice in Lagos.
TESMI Nigeria said it recognises that meaningful participation requires more than simply asking girls to share their stories.
The #BleedWithDignity process is intended to provide an appropriate and structured avenue through which participating girls can contribute their ideas and priorities to the Charter’s development.
The organisation will apply appropriate safeguarding, consent/assent and confidentiality procedures throughout the participation process, particularly because the recruitment involves adolescent girls.
Participation will be voluntary, and submission of an application will not automatically guarantee selection.
According to the organsers, the current call is open to: Girls attending private secondary schools in Lagos StateGirls who are interested in contributing to conversations around menstrual health, girls’ rights, WASH, dignity or advocacy
Girls who are willing to participate in the Charter co-drafting process; Applicants who meet the project’s applicable eligibility and safeguarding requirements
How to apply
Interested and eligible girls can complete the official application form:
Application Form: https://form.jotform.com/262393238048057
Application deadline: 14 September 202026the group urged applicants to note that completing the form does not automatically mean that they have been selected. TESMI Nigeria will review applications and confirm participants in line with the project’s eligibility, safeguarding and participation requirements.
#BleedWithDignity: Centering Girls’ Voices for Menstrual Policy Reform in Lagos is a TESMI Nigeria project focused on placing girls’ experiences and priorities at the centre of menstrual-health advocacy and policy conversations.
The project focuses on menstrual health and hygiene, girls’ rights, school WASH, menstrual dignity, girl-led advocacy and policy engagement. A key advocacy output is the development of a Menstrual Justice Charter that reflects the priorities emerging from the girls-centred process.
Teens Smart Builder Initiative (TESMI Nigeria) is a Nigerian youth-focused organisation working to advance the dignity, safety, inclusion and opportunities of adolescents and young people through community-centred programmes, advocacy and rights-based interventions.
TESMI Nigeria works across areas including adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, menstrual health and hygiene, HIV prevention, girls’ rights, WASH, gender-based violence prevention, climate justice, mental health and youth development.
