Youth Month has minimal significance since most young women don’t have access to sanitary pads. As a young female that is inspired by the tenacity of the Class of ‘76, I find it mind boggling and alarming that three decades into the new democratic dispensation, the government has not made sanitary pads free for all, yet it provides free condoms to all.
Statistically speaking, there are over seven million girls and women who don’t have access to sanitary pads in SA. In essence, this means that millions of girls and women from impoverished backgrounds resort to unhealthy and unhygienic means every month, while some are even forced to miss school. Even though education is a fundamental right, that right is infringed upon when millions of girls miss school due to their menstrual cycle.
Those entrusted to ensure that issues of young people are put high on the agenda are silent and so are political parties, including their student movements. Period poverty is quite rife in SA because a number of girls and women face barriers in accessing affordable and hygienic menstrual products. This is rather unfortunate because menstruation is a natural and unavoidable bodily process that is part and parcel of a woman’s life.
The provision of free sanitary pads will ensure that girls attend school more regularly, while also empowering them to stay in school and further their education. As we draw closer to June 16 and 30 years of democracy in SA, the government should play an active role in empowering young people, especially young girls from indigent backgrounds.
The introduction and implementation of free sanitary pads will not only destigmatise menstruation, it will also aid in tackling gender inequality to create a more inclusive and equitable society that upholds the dignity of girls and women.
Lesedi Mnguni, Johannesburg
READER LETTER | Sanitary pads should be free
Image: STOCK
Youth Month has minimal significance since most young women don’t have access to sanitary pads. As a young female that is inspired by the tenacity of the Class of ‘76, I find it mind boggling and alarming that three decades into the new democratic dispensation, the government has not made sanitary pads free for all, yet it provides free condoms to all.
Statistically speaking, there are over seven million girls and women who don’t have access to sanitary pads in SA. In essence, this means that millions of girls and women from impoverished backgrounds resort to unhealthy and unhygienic means every month, while some are even forced to miss school. Even though education is a fundamental right, that right is infringed upon when millions of girls miss school due to their menstrual cycle.
Those entrusted to ensure that issues of young people are put high on the agenda are silent and so are political parties, including their student movements. Period poverty is quite rife in SA because a number of girls and women face barriers in accessing affordable and hygienic menstrual products. This is rather unfortunate because menstruation is a natural and unavoidable bodily process that is part and parcel of a woman’s life.
The provision of free sanitary pads will ensure that girls attend school more regularly, while also empowering them to stay in school and further their education. As we draw closer to June 16 and 30 years of democracy in SA, the government should play an active role in empowering young people, especially young girls from indigent backgrounds.
The introduction and implementation of free sanitary pads will not only destigmatise menstruation, it will also aid in tackling gender inequality to create a more inclusive and equitable society that upholds the dignity of girls and women.
Lesedi Mnguni, Johannesburg
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