The fight to end period poverty doesn't belong to NGOs and feminists only, it's a fight for us all
They say injury to one is injury to all. Amid the worsening economic conditions, prices of sanitary ware have shot beyond the reach of many women, the working class included. Half of our population is wounded...which means we are all wounded, both men and women. We simply can't afford to take issues to do with menstruation and period poverty lightly anymore.
My heart bleeds especially for the underprivileged girls and women in the remote, impoverished parts of the country. A friend of mine recently told me about Agnes (not her real name). 13 year old homeless Agnes menstruates for 7 days and uses rags, socks and newspapers she picks from the dustbin and pavements and also sniffs glue to escape from the severe period pain. Just think of the health risks she exposes herself during the process!
For how long shall we continue to accept stories of girls failing to attend school because of period pain? It's high time we take collective action to end period poverty. If the world can manage to provide free condoms for a voluntary action, we surely can manage to provide free sanitary ware for an inevitable biological process that comes every month.
We all need to start talking about it and taking action too, remember our lives begin to end the day we choose to keep quite about things that matter!
Just imagine if our society was not openly talking about HIV/AIDS issues, where will we have been right now?
The removal of import duty and value added tax (VAT) could have been a step in the right direction had the cost of sanitary ware not remained high. Real action is needed, real action is what is being done by the Umguza girls, Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe, other NGOs and many individuals out there, we all need to join the fight.
We can end period poverty - TOGETHER! We just need to amplify the voices calling for free sanitary ware! The right time is NOW, and the right people is US!
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