Caring for the other half: PhotoVoice stories of menstruation from Khayelitsha

The Caring for the Other Half project explores how sanitation systems shape women’s experiences of menstrual health in informal settlements. The United Nations recognises good menstrual health as a human right, but achieving this right requires more than simply providing menstrual products or toilets. Women and girls also need safe, clean and private spaces to wash, change and dispose of menstrual waste, as well as supportive social environments and access to information about menstruation.

This project focuses on BM Section in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, where many residents rely on shared sanitation and communal waste services provided by the City of Cape Town. Across BM section, many of these sanitation facilities are difficult to access and may be unclean or unsafe. In 2025, we worked with women residents to understand how sanitation infrastructure, social dynamics, and everyday practices shape their ability to manage menstruation.

We conducted interviews and PhotoVoice, a participatory method that uses photography to document lived experiences. Women participants took photographs that reflect the realities of managing menstruation in the context in which they live, then shared the stories behind these images in their own words. Our research found that women’s daily coping strategies are shaped by concerns around privacy, safety, stigma, cleanliness and waste disposal. Participants highlighted the need for safer and more hygienic sanitation facilities, private and secure bins for menstrual waste, better disposal options, and more education for both women and men to reduce stigma and improve understanding of menstruation.

This photo essay contains images and captions from the 15 PhotoVoice participants from Khayelitsha. Together, the photographs and narratives provide important insight into the everyday realities of managing menstruation in contexts with limited sanitation infrastructure and services.

Click here to download the photo essay.