I never felt unsafe, the hawkers and would-be-guides hassled Cris and me fairly equally, and I walked by myself back to our hotel with no problems at one point (about a 45 minute trip). I don't tend to wear revealing clothing (outside of night clubs), so it seemed natural to me to wear long sleeved tops and full length trousers to keep my skin safe from sun, insect bites, and dust.
I did have to deal with starting my period while on vacation. I'd been fairly sure that this would happen (my cycle is short), so I'd planned ahead and ordered a menstrual cup, a Lunette. I had one month to use it before leaving on the trip, getting used to the procedures in the comfort of my own bathroom. The advantage it has over tampons or pads is that it only has to be emptied out every 12 hours (well, for me, your flow may vary), and at the start and end of my period, I can go for 24 hours due to low flow. I started using it on the first full day of trekking, able to tell that I was about to start menstruating soon. Inserting it in the cramped spaces of the toilet tent was bit of a challenge, and it took a little bit of time. Time was the main issue, as we were on a fairly aggressive schedule and I was competing for the tent with 11 other people, but it worked out okay in the end. I had a gallon zip lock bag that I took into the tent with me, with my roll of toilet paper, a 50 count packet of baby wipes, and a couple of latex gloves. I couldn't count on getting my hands clean enough to feel safe, so I would put on the gloves so I'd have a clean surface to grasp the Lunette. It was easy to empty into the toilet bucket, and I'd then wipe it down with one or two wipes and reinsert it. The gloves and the wipe would go in the used toilet paper bag on the wall of the tent and I was done. There were some times when I didn't need the gloves, if they'd recently given us hot water to wash with, I'd just disinfect my hands using Purell. I'd have to psyche myself up to emptying it as the trip went on, and the altitude wore away at my energy and mental capacity, but I'm happy to have used it, especially when we would be without a toilet tent for most of the day. I hadn't looked forward to packing my used supplies with me until we stopped and I could throw them in the communal garbage bag.
I was lucky that I didn't have any serious cramps during the trip, but I was loaded down with ibuprofen for general muscle aches in any case. One night, when they gave us just boiled water in our water bottles, I slept with one on my stomach for comfort anyway. :)
I also didn't wear shorts at all during the trek, because I didn't bother to bring a razor for shaving my legs. There was no privacy for that, in any case. I think in a pinch I could have done it in the vestibule of our tent but that would have probably splashed water all over the place and made a mud hole right where we wanted it to be clean. My hiking pants were really light weight, so it wasn't a problem to stay cool w/o wearing shorts (plus it was really dusty). The only time it was a minor issue was when I had to have my knee wrapped with a tension bandage, but I did that in the tent. :)
As for hair, I'd taken the easy way out for me, and shaved my head to
stubble before leaving for the trip. I would just splash my head with
soapy water and rinse it along with my face, but mostly I kept a sun or
winter hat on, depending on the temperature. The other women in the group
put their hair up in pony tails or had scarves/headbands to keep it off of
their faces, no one could really wash their hair, nor most of their body,
during the 6 days we were on the trail. That first shower after we got
back to a hotel was sheer bliss. :)