With period poverty being widely prevalent, the City of Johannesburg MMC for Public Safety, Mgcini Tshwaku, led a sanitary towel drive at Aurora Girls High in Soweto on Tuesday in honour of Women’s Month.
According to “Project Dignity: Keep a Girl in School” four million girls do not have access to sanitary products in the country. This leads to girls missing 25% of class attendance per year. That is one week every month, a massive setback in their school careers.
“Project Dignity: Keep a Girl in School” is a non-profit organisation that restores the health and dignity of South African school girls.
Aurora Girls High had requested sanitary towels, uniforms for financially challenged learners, office stationery and food donations during a Grade 12 study camp programme.
In response employees at the department dug deep into their pockets and contributed money to buy the sanitary towels. The pad drive benefited 300 learners in Grade 8.
As the country stands as the rape capital of the world, and cases of gender-based violence (GBV) being rife, Tshwaku urged the school girls to fight for their rights to safety, and a society free from misogyny and femicide.
“I urge the girls to come together and advocate for their rights, as they are most aware of the issues that impact them. I also encourage them to speak out against any form of abuse, whether it be sexual violence by relatives or witnessing domestic abuse. The Public Safety Department is always prepared to address such matters,” said Tshwaku.
He implored teachers to cultivate an interest in politics in their learners in order to embody the spirit of iconic female political leadership.
Tshwaku stressed that when stakeholders and organisations partnered to tackle period poverty by regularly providing sanitary towels in schools, there would be a decline in period poverty. This in turn would protect women from losing economic independence and becoming ensnared in abusive relationships.
Government stakeholders such as the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) have been championing against the rise of teenage pregnancy and under age drinking. Equally, there should be a strong foundation of learners, teachers, the community and parents to rally support for affordable, or free sanitary towels.
Lamenting period poverty and the scourge of teenage pregnancy, Grade 12 learner Zamageba Zulu encouraged her female schoolmates to focus on their education and building successful careers.
“We need to know how to carry ourselves with dignity and respect as women for the next generation of women to look up to us. When I started high school, I was shocked by the many teenage pregnancies I saw. Let us stand firm and know the difference between right and wrong. Let us stand firm and follow our dreams,” said Zulu.
The Star