For many girls across South Africa, getting their period means staying home from school, bearing the indignity of negative social stigma and the risk of related health issues.
South Africa (07 September 2022) – Sixteen-year-old humanitarian Simran Sahib is using Heritage Month to create a legacy of dignity and empowerment for our girl child, addressing the pervasive issue of period poverty.
Period poverty affects up to 7 million South African girls who do not have access to or cannot afford to buy sanitary products. This has serious repercussions, with an estimated 30% of South African schoolgirls unable to attend class while on their period.
“As a young girl, I understand the emotional and physical needs around menstruation. We need to address period poverty by supporting our sisters in the present and creating the foundation for a better future which offers them more choices,” says Simran.
Education Gap Implications
Not being able to afford sanitaryware results in absenteeism or dropping out of school altogether. Missing school time in turn perpetuates the cycle of the gender gap, especially in STEM subjects – vital for future work – with girls falling behind because they are unable to attend the relevant classes.
This perpetuates other social and gender issues: if girls are not in school, they are more likely to experience teenage pregnancy and early motherhood.
Additionally, interrupted school attendance affects their future earning potential, making it difficult to escape intergenerational poverty. This impacts self-esteem, health outcomes, and sense of having agency in their lives.
Menstrual Equity
In order to address these issues and create a legacy of empowerment, Simran has launched a non-profit initiative, the Legacy Gala for Girls. This initiative for girls by girls aims to create much needed awareness and education and to raise funds to provide sanitary pads and help keep young girls in school.
In addition to addressing physical necessities, the initiative includes workshops focusing on education and empowering the girls with life skills, providing emotional and career support to impact the girls’ present lives and open the door to more empowered choices for their future.
“A sense of dignity is essential to all of us. The initiative aims to uplift our sisters emotionally and physically,” says Simran.
The Legacy Gala focuses on heightening awareness around menstrual equity. This means highlighting issues relating to access to sanitary products, proper toilets, hand washing facilities, sanitation and hygiene education, and waste management.
Sanitation is a key issue of menstrual equity. The SA Human Rights Council recently reported that a total of 366 schools across all provinces, with the exception of Western Cape, have no water for sanitation for 5 429 and 144 255 teachers and learners, respectively. Additionally, these provinces still have a total of 3 297 schools with pit latrines, impacting almost 40 000 teachers and over one million students.
“While this situation is unacceptable for all adults and children, it makes it all the more unendurable for young girls to manage their menstruation hygienically and with dignity,” she says.
Raising awareness: The Legacy Gala for Girls
Workshops provide a platform for host girls and schoolgirls to spend time together leading up to the Legacy dinner event.
“When it comes to choosing between being able to buy food or sanitary products, there is not much of a choice; many girls stay at home. As young girls ourselves, we want to help change this, leveraging the Legacy initiative to give schoolgirls a voice and a chance to change their future,” says Simran.
This will culminate in the Legacy Gala on Heritage Day, where the schoolgirls will have dresses made for them as part of the initiative. The Marriott, Melrose Arch is kindly providing the venue facilities where corporates and individuals have the opportunity to participate in the initiative by sponsoring a table. Funds raised will be handed over to the Imbumba Foundation, an NGO which provides sanitary ware for schoolgirls.
“The Legacy Dinner is a coming together of young women as sisters, celebrating our rich South Arican heritage while creating a new legacy of empowerment. By drawing attention to ending period poverty, we can start to redefine the narrative of the girl child in South Africa and throughout the African continent,” she says.
“The dinner is a celebration of our common womanhood, creating a platform of mutual inspiration, where together we can make a difference and start to build a more empowered future for all girls,” concludes Simran.
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