For some girls in urban areas, sanitary wear is a basic thing while in the rural areas it is a luxury that many cannot afford.
The start of a menstrual period brings nightmares for most rural girls.
“I just wish if I could skip it for months because it is actually embarrassing. I have no adequate sanitary wear and I usually miss school days during the period. Boys in our class actually mock us saying they know our days by virtue of our being absent from school,” said a young girl in Domboshava.
Another girl said she had resorted to using torn shirts as sanitary wear and, with a mischievous laugh, added that she was forced to steal her father’s old shirts.
A female teacher at Chikonde Secondary School in Seke communal lands said it was uncomfortable to see a young girl soiling her uniform with menstrual flow because she could not afford to buy sanitary wear.
“Imagine assigning a girl for classroom duties and finding out she had messed her uniform! As a mother and a female I decided to provide my sanitary wear but, it’s not enough for all the girls,” said the teacher.
A shocking report by the Integrated Sustainable Livelihoods (ISL) has revealed that due to lack of resources, some young girls in Zimbabwe are using pieces of cloth, newspapers, cow dung and tissues as sanitary wear during their monthly menstruation.
Bulawayo Central Member of Parliament Dorcas Sibanda acknowledged that acquiring sanitary wear remained a nightmare for rural girls.
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Speaking at the sidelines of the launch of a campaign for improved maternal healthcare in rural areas held on Saturday in Domboshava, the parliamentarian said she had already raised the issue with Finance minister Tendai Biti.
“This is very true. Some girls in the rural areas are using cow dung or maize cobs as sanitary wear. I sit on the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Budget and Finance and I have raised the issue with the Minister of Finance and we are just waiting to see what he will do when he announces the first quarter Budget report,” said Sibanda.
She added she had organised a march for girls in Bulawayo on May 18 to force the government to subsidise sanitary wear products and vowed not to rest until the issue was addressed.
“Condoms are subsidised and this should also apply to sanitary wear,” she said.
“The government must provide sanitary pads to women and girls in rural areas because they are the most disadvantaged group of people and are not able to buy sanitary pads. You find out that most women in rural areas are the ones who are working hard in the cotton fields yet they are deprived of such health requirements. It’s very unfair.”
She added that sanitary wear should be provided in schools.
“Why provide condoms in public institutions but fail to provide sanitary wear in schools? Some of the young girls end up being involved in unorthodox means to get sanitary wear,” fumed Sibanda.
ISL director Lifa Methie is on record saying most rural girls fail to turn up for school during their menstrual period because they have no sanitary pads.
“ISL assessment shows that about 70% of the girls in Forms 1 and 2 fail to attend school during their monthly periods because they do not use proper sanitary wear. School attendance registers show that girls are absent for at least four days every month,” Methie said.
In an effort to promote menstrual hygiene among women and young girls from poor backgrounds, the organisation has since started imparting skills in rural communities to make their own sanitary pads.
According to Naome Chimbetete, executive director for the Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre and Network, young girls are affected by a lack of budgetary provisions for women as resources are not properly channelled to address issues that affect them.
She said the issue concerning sanitary pads for young girls should be seen as a sexual and reproductive health right.
She added that such issues should be addressed through gender-sensitive budgeting in the next financial year.
Women are calling for taxation on sanitary products to be scrapped to make them more affordable to under-privileged young women.
Gender activist Tafadzwa Ndlovu called on the government to prioritise reproductive health.
“The menstrual cycle is vital for either males or females. It is the only way through which human kind would multiply and women should not feel embarrassed by the process. Relevant authorities should therefore provide basic necessities that would make the process enjoyable,” said Ndlovu.
