In Madagascar, menstruation is a significant barrier to women's emancipation due to the lack of access to water, sanitary products, and basic infrastructure. Women often use worn-out fabric from second-hand clothes as sanitary towels, which they are ashamed to dry in the sun. The unemployment rate on the island exacerbates the issue, with women financially dependent on their husbands. Young girls sometimes borrow money to afford sanitary pads. Women's rights activist Amarante Norolalao Ranerason highlights the anxiety and social exclusion women face due to menstruation, perpetuated by taboos and misinformation, such as a father slapping his daughter at the onset of her first period due to misconceptions about its cause.