China virus fight sparks outcry over female frontline staff

BEIJING: China's fight against the coronavirus epidemic has triggered anger over the neglect of frontline female workers who have struggled to access menstrual products, battled with ill-fitting equipment and had their heads shaved.

Reports that some medical staff were given birth control pills in order to delay their periods have also prompted outrage. As the world marks International Women´s Day, women in China have rallied against measures they deem discriminatory as the government races to contain the crisis, which has disrupted the lives of tens of millions of people under lockdown in central Hubei province, the virus epicentre.

Shanghai resident Jiang Jinjing became concerned about how female medical workers were dealing with their periods, after workers spoke out about avoiding using the toilet to conserve their protective suits.

The 24-year-old asked about the issue on China´s Twitter-like Weibo platform, and received thousands of comments, including urgent anonymous appeals from women in Hubei.

"Many female medical workers sent messages, saying their periods were really causing a lot of trouble," said Jiang, who launched a donation drive of sanitary products. "Can´t even eat or drink all day while wearing the isolation suit, let alone change sanitary napkins," one told her. Her efforts galvanized individuals and companies to send more than 600,000 sanitary pads and period-proof underwear, which can be worn for longer, to frontline workers.