By Gorge Vhudzi
Vulnerable girls and young women in the Midlands province are set to receive free sanitary wear under a campaign to restore menstrual dignity, Woman Coalition of Zimbabwe (WCOZ) said.
WCOZ Gweru Chapter Young Women’s Forum chairperson, Grace Mazambani said the move was meant to enhance the dignity of the girl child as it has come to their concern that some girls were resorting to unhygienic means when they go for their periods.
“As a result of unaffordable sanitary wear, hordes of girls in the Midlands have resorted to using unhygienic materials that expose them to health related problems,’ Mazambani said.
‘We are targeting men so as to remove the taboo tag that has to do with menstruation,’ she said.
According to statistics 72% of rural girls rely on plants, cow dung, torn strips of cloth and old newspapers and it’s also a step towards the combat against cervical cancer.’
She highlighted that they intend to rope in male companions in their menstrual health awareness campaigns.
‘We are targeting men so as to remove the taboo tag that has to do with menstruation,’ she said.
‘One can relate back to the Bible which regarded women on menstruation period as unclean.’
An RnB and Afro-Pop artist, Marshal Banda said that when he saw the ‘Pad drive’ flyer circulating on social media he was moved and vowed to spread the message of reproductive hygiene through music.
“I am an RnB artist and this type of music is believed to be music for ladies and when I saw the pad drive flyer I was touched because I have the girl child at heart,” said Banda.
The coalition’s pad drive is to mobilize enough sanitary pads to underprivileged girls and young women in the province from Mberengwa to Gokwe.
The campaign came after prices of sanitary wear are also going up every now and then, with the lowest pack going for ZW$80 or 1USD which most rural families cannot afford to spare on such intensities.
The pad drive campaign was adopted from the International Women’s day theme ‘My Voice Our Equal Future’.
