The Issue
PERIOD POVERTY NEEDS A REVOLUTION, IN ZIMBABWE!
There is research to suggest that without access to sanitary pads, the average school-going girl is forced to miss 50 days of class. Without access to such a fundamental aspect of sexual reproductive health not only strips a girl of her confidence to perform inside the classroom and on the field, it turns the menstrual period into a monthly dreaded experience.
The SGV Programme was started in Matabeleland South because it is a historically underdeveloped province and is also prone to food insecurity due to famine. In commemoration of the International Day of the Girl (11 October 2016), UNICEF released a status report supporting the fact that girls across Sub-Saharan Africa spend 40% more of their time on chores than boys. Hence it is imperative to continually consider evolving interventions that can ease the burden invoked by the traditional division of labour in rural households so that girls have a fair and fighting chance to excel in school. The girls lay at the intersection of multiple disadvantages hence the need for a multi-faceted approach.
Period poverty is still very prevalent, as 72% of menstruating school girls do not use sanitary pads because they do not afford them, according to a study by SNV Zimbabwe.
It is SGCM’s 7th birthday on August 15th and we have just launched our annual #letsgetpaddedup campaign and sanitary wear drive. We have expanded to South Africa and we have volunteers who want to bring the movement to Zambia and Botswana.
Help us get padded up because “Every girl needs pads. Period.” Save the Girl Child Movement, it’s a movement. Help us make it catch fire, move and spread. First regional and then global. #letsgetpaddedup
Founder Dr Nadia Ncube (centre) at Let’s Get Padded Up 2018
