The cornerstone of growth and the entryway to women’s full participation in the political, economic, and cultural life of a nation is girls’ health and education.
Poor menstrual hygiene management prevents that, putting young girls and many women at a disadvantage long before they can actively participate in society due to biological processes that are completely out of one's control.
More than 7 million girls in South Africa are reported to be absent from school each month due to sanitary pads not being available to them.
Period poverty is a global issue affecting many women and girls. As a result, these girls miss 25% of classes and valuable education time in a single school year.
Adding fuel to the fire based on a study conducted in Ethiopia, 50% of girls miss one to four days of school per month due to menstruation.
While another study claims that girls in Kenya skip four school days on average per month, costing them 165 learning days, it is believed that this is the most important predictor of students dropping out of school.
Although scientific literature contains limited estimates in this regard, several sources contend that women who use disposable pads use 2-4 per day, five times per 28 days, will use 130-260 pads or tampons a year.
Coupled with the price of sanitary pads, women and girls are really in for a struggle.
If not properly addressed, this lack of a valuable resource has the potential to destroy the hopes and dreams of the girl child.
Menstruation has always been a private matter, but recently, the dialogue has changed and it is now a topic of debate in public.
The topic of menstruation appears to be ongoing, even though not everyone feels comfortable doing so or sees the significance of doing so.
The burning question still stands: If there are ways to offer free condom use to the public, is it not high time for free hygiene products as well?
In order to reduce the effects of this ongoing problem, ActionSA councillors collaborated with other like-minded non-profit organisations to provide sanitary towels to girls.
A single pad can contain up to the equivalent of five plastic carrier bags, which can take up to 500 years to decompose, according to councillor Carin Van der Schyf, who explained the motivation behind reusable pads to IOL Lifestyle, and approximately 220 000 tons of menstrual waste end up in our landfills.
Moreover, re-usable sanitary pads can last the user between 3 and 5 years, with a once off cost of R150.”
This time, the team donated reusable sanitary pads to the Rand West Municipality instead of only the City of Johannesburg. 84 girls in total received reusable sanitary pads from Project Intombi and ActionSA PR councillors from the JoziWest constituency, councillors Esmie Liebenberg and Carin van der Schyf, also visited the Ipeleng Primary School in Bekkersdal.
South Africans from all walks of life, according to Councilor van der Schyf, must confront poverty head-on. According to her, the nation's high unemployment rate makes current poverty worse. Van der Schyf, who is adamant about ending period poverty, challenges anyone with resources to get together and assist just one girl child in their community if they want to succeed in their mission.
Project Intombi will keep up the momentum in the fight to end period poverty with the help of other advocates so that every female child has a safe and respectable period.