Challenges to menstrual practices in Brazil: an analysis of the Menstrual Health Protection and Promotion Program

The present article aimed to reflect on the Menstrual Health Protection and Promotion Program, based on the challenges related to the right to menstruate in Brazil. This is a reflective study that addresses the advances and setbacks of menstrual practices in the country. The findings were divided into three categories: "The sanitary pad as a path to truth and life", "Menstrual precariousness and/or poverty", and "Education and Health: two pillars of menstrual dignity". It was identified that it is necessary to develop jointly constructed public policies, addressing menstrual health and education, since the trajectory of menstruating people is still linked to challenges and barriers, where social and cultural rights are not guaranteed, relying only on the free distribution of sanitary pads. In this sense, our research points out the importance of the Program, which is the core subject of this study; however, the need for a more comprehensive approach is highlighted to mitigate this problem, respecting the particularities of the social actors who experience menstrual precariousness.