Sanitary pad protest in Malaysia sparks outrage over tone-deaf message

Political group issues apology for wearing sanitary pads as face masks to protest appointment of senator

A political protest in Malaysia using sanitary pads as face masks has drawn criticism for being tone-deaf and misogynistic and for reinforcing menstrual stigma.

Nearly 50 members of the Democratic Action Party in Negeri Sembilan state on the southwest coast of the country wore sanitary pads as masks to protest the appointment of a senator.

They said the pads – “thick, dense, highly absorbent and soundproof” – symbolised the “airtight silence” of the state party committee on the selection of an “outsider” as senator over a local candidate.

The stunt backfired, prompting condemnation from inside the party and outside. Critics said it was disrespectful to women and reinforced harmful stigma around menstruation in a country where some girls still missed school due to a lack of access to menstrual products.

“The menstrual pad is not a tool for personal gain or internal protest,” the women’s wing of the party in Kuala Lumpur said. “It represents the lived experiences of millions of women and should not be exploited to make a political point, especially within our own party.”

The party’s Wanita chief and deputy communications minister Teo Nie Ching condemned the act for its insensitivity given the period poverty in Malaysia.

“Using sanitary pads as tools of attack or ridicule only reinforces the shame and stigma long associated with menstruation,” she said.

The party’s secretary general Anthony Loke called it “highly inappropriate”.

All Women’s Action Society deemed the action “nonsensical and deeply regressive”. “In a country where many women and girls still struggle to afford menstrual products, it’s deeply insensitive for men to waste and weaponise them in the political arena,” Amanda Shweeta Louis, the society’s senior advocacy officer, was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

“Menstruation is not something to be ashamed of and using it as a means to shame others is just plain misogyny.”

In the wake of the backlash, Lee Kong Hing, chairperson of the party’s Veterans Club in Negeri Sembilan, apologised saying the protesters did not intend to offend or discriminate against women. “As for using the sanitary pad, I actually have a lot of respect for women,” he said at a press briefing. “I had no intention of insulting women, and I hope they won’t misunderstand my intention. I was just using it as a prop.”