Qrate ZA, Cora Project, and the Siyasizana Foundation in South Africa have started using their digital platforms to address issues tied to menstruation.
Development Diaries understands that period poverty, which refers to the lack of access to sanitary products and hygiene facilities to manage menstruation, remains a prevalent issue in South Africa.
An estimated 30 percent of girls in the country do not attend school while they are menstruating because they cannot afford sanitary products, according to a study conducted by Stellenbosch University.
Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission, Bongani Majola, had noted that a lack of access to sanitary products can have a ripple effect on the entire population.
‘It is not just the girls and women who benefit from having proper menstrual hygiene, the broader society and national economies can profit from better menstruation management’, Majola said in a statement.
The aforementioned organisations, with a view to solving this problem, go beyond supplying pads and tampons to those who cannot afford them.
It is understood that they also seek to empower women and educate young people about menstruation.
Qrate ZA focuses on developing critical thinking skills in young people so they may engage with socio-economic issues that will affect them in the future.
Founder of the organisation, Candice Chirwa, says Qrate aims to teach children about stigmatised subjects such as mental health, masculinity, and menstruation.
‘I have realised that critical engagement and discourse on stigmatised social issues that have beset our country are important to provide in a child-friendly manner and can potentially provide an alternative way to empower the next generation’, Global Citizen quoted Chirwa as saying.
As for the founders of the Cora Project, Aurora and Cleopatra Marcopoulos, they were disheartened by the vulnerability of women during the national Covid-19 lockdown, as well as the injustices that women and girls face every day.
‘We want to empower and support girls and women and not let their periods act as a barrier to achieving their full potential’, they told Global Citizen.
The organisation provides sanitary products to those in need in the Cape Town region, using social media to share their mission with young people across the country.
With regard to the Siyasizana Foundation, which was founded by Instagram influencer Dineo Nono, alongside YouTuber and content creator, Mihlali Ndamase, it aims to uplift children in South Africa by making sure that no child has a reason to go without education.
It is understood that the foundation holds a Pad Drive that helps to provide schools and women’s shelters with sanitary pads with the help of donations from private companies and the public.
Source: Global Citizen
Photo source: Siyasizana Foundation
