UN takes aim at ‘river god’

Ghanaian schoolgirls have been banned from crossing a river while they are menstruating. BBC News reports that the ban, apparently handed down by a local river god in the Upper Denkyira East district, has outraged children's activists, especially as girls must cross the river to reach their schools. Unesco estimates one in 10 girls in the region does not attend school because they are menstruating. ‘Sometimes I think that we need to ask for some form of accountability from these gods who continue to bar a lot of things from happening,’ said Unicef's menstrual hygiene ambassador Shamima Muslim Alhassan. The report notes that many African cultures have myths and taboos around menstruation.