At only 24 years old, Inès Belhous has already declined her Menstru'Elles project twice, in Burkina Faso and in Ile-de-France.
His idea ?
Teach women to sew a washable sanitary napkin, to restore their confidence, to talk about periods, about sexual health, and if necessary redirect them to the appropriate structures and professionals.
While she has just received two awards from the Deloitte Foundation and is completing her civic service, Inès met
20 Minutes
between two days of training in sexual health.
Two prizes for an evening.
On Thursday June 3, the inventiveness of Inès Belhous, 24, was praised by the Deloitte Foundation.
She gave him the civic service prize (1,500 euros) and the public prize (1,000 euros) for his Menstru'Elles project.
The goal?
Offer a workshop to make washable sanitary napkins.
And thus fight against menstrual insecurity and promote the care pathway for women.
One more encouragement for this twenty-something who does not hesitate to talk about intimate health.
On the terrace of a café in Montparnasse, where we met her, Inès takes out of her bag one of the sanitary napkins, made from a beautiful blue African fabric.
High ponytail and burgundy shirt, she tells her story.
Founding meetings in Burkina Faso
Inès Belhous grew up in the Paris region and after a year in hypokhâgne, she joined Sciences Po Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines). It was during a trip to Burkina Faso that she measured the extent of menstrual insecurity. “At the time, I was already very comfortable talking about periods, admits the young woman, who suffers. endometriosis. Speaking with young girls, I discovered that they had no way to protect themselves during their period, so they skipped school. Some even thought they were sick! "
This is how the first version of Menstru'Elles was born.
“We created workshops to manufacture washable sanitary napkins,” she explains.
Basically, it was to give work to certain women and to offer young girls means of protection during their period.
»At only 19 years old, she led this mission from 2015 to 2017, on the occasion of multiple trips back and forth to Burkina Faso.
The project continues thanks to grants from the Ile-de-France region and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“But the goal was for it to be perpetuated without a subsidy and without Western hands being there.
"
“Menstrual insecurity also exists in France!
"
Five years later, Inès Belhous graduated and worked as a part-time consultant for the Women in Africa foundation… but kept this project in mind. “Menstrual insecurity also exists in France! And we talk a lot about zero waste. »We still have to find a structure that will allow him to learn about sexual health, to obtain sewing machines, to know which public to reach, to find towels and fabrics to reuse…
Sophie Rigot, a midwife who coordinates a program for migrant women at the regional center for information and prevention of AIDS and for the health of young people (Crips) in Ile-de-France, hears about her project. And then proposes to him to join the association, for seven months of civic service. "A great meeting", breathes Sophie Rigot. Inès, sewing expert, Sophie more comfortable with questions of sexual health co-construct Menstru'Elles, French version. Not easy, however, to forge a bond of trust in a period of Covid-19 and teleworking. "But we managed to see each other once a week and she is super rigorous, motivated and committed, it's nice," says the midwife.
After a few experiments, the specifications were refined: the Crips offers within its walls, in Pantin (Seine-Saint-Denis), a 3-hour workshop for 4 to 6 migrant women, to teach them how to sew a sanitary napkin. reusable.
"The goal is also to put these women, often victims of violence, back into the care process", specifies Inès.
For the moment, she has led two workshops, and the Crips has received the means to prepare 15 over a year.
“Inès brought out the idea, we seized on it, summarizes Sophie Rigot.
And we hope to find sustainable funding.
"
A daring bet
How does this work out in practice? “We introduce educational games, for example a true / false on the rules. For two hours, the women, in pairs, make their towels to leave with them. “At the end of the day, we take twenty minutes to talk about contraception and pregnancy,” continues Inès.
Talking about rules without taboos with migrant women, the bet promises to be daring.
Especially since some do not speak French perfectly… “We are going to talk about the baby's house rather than the uterus, for example.
And when things get stuck, some play translators.
"The Crips has been working for ten years on emotional and sexual life with the migrant public, nuance Sophie Mirat.
But by creating this washable sanitary napkin, they develop a self-esteem, a sense of efficiency.
And this allows exchange, mutual assistance.
“Among themselves, but also with the facilitators.
"We are not here to teach a course on the rules," insists Inès.
It is they who speak, debate.
And it's easier to free the floor since they're all in a similar situation.
"
Export the project
What impresses Inès is the impact that these workshops can have. "Once, when we explained that the rules were not dirty, a woman burst out laughing:" I am 45 years old and I am really surprised to learn of that ". It was overwhelming! For another, it was the discovery of sewing that changed her life. “We would expect to learn about health structures, less about training for seamstresses! », Admits Inès. Who does not hide his enthusiasm. “Women are coming back, talking about it around them. It seems silly to make towels. But it can unlock things: "I can consult", "I can say no to a doctor". "
If she has planned to continue to lead certain workshops as a self-employed person for the Crips, she can imagine herself passing the baton.
Because the twenty-something does not intend to stop there.
"My objective is to deploy this project abroad, in Senegal or in Rwanda, to respond to a threefold problem: women's health, women's employment and schooling for young girls."
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Civic service
Women's health
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