Paheja Siririka
WINDHOEK – The African Youth and Adolescent Network (AFRIYAN) has started a campaign to collect sanitary pads for vulnerable young girls across the country.
Pledges for this initiative came from the executive director in the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, executive director in the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service Emma Kantema-Gaomas, Mandela Kapere the executive chairperson of the National Youth Council of Namibia, Namasiku Lizazi from the SADC Parliamentary Forum, Namibian hip-hop rapper KP Illest and Miss Intercontinental Namibia, Christiana Gure.
According to Ashwell Forbes, AFRIYAN’s president, to date about 780 pads have been collected but the target remains 3 000 and they will be donated to girls in Kavango East Region on May 28.
Forbes explained that last year, more than 1 000 sanitary pads were handed to ten schools in Omaheke Region.
In the same breath, he urged Namibians to donate sanitary pads.
“To pledge their support to raise 3 000 dignity packs for young vulnerable girls in the Kavango Region, we humbly request other partners to join, especially the private sector. It’s a collective effort for us to make this change. We also have to start the conversation on 0 percent tax on sanitary pads, as this is a human right,” highlighted Forbes.
“Women and girls miss out on education, work and other opportunities in life when they cannot manage their menstruation with normalcy and in dignity,” added Forbes.
He further said that taboos and myths related to menstruation portray women and girls as inferior to men and boys.
“This undermines gender equality and often constitutes discrimination. It is with this background that donating a pad is not just donating a product but it’s the action of contributing to restoring a girl’s dignity in making sure she does not miss opportunities in life,” stressed Forbes.