Stop the stigma, period
While tax on sanitary towels in South Africa was scrapped only recently, they are still being sold compared to condoms which are free. Having your period is not a choice.
World Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed on 28 May with the objective of breaking stigma and taboos around menstruation. In an unequal society such as ours, vulnerable and underprivileged women and girls are in desperate situations when their period comes around every month. While tax on sanitary
towels in South Africa was scrapped only recently, they are still being sold compared to condoms which are free. Having your period is not a choice.
Patty Ogle, founder of the Ogle Foundation, an NPO in Roodepoort, assists women who live on the streets and those who live in poverty with sanitary pads, and she admits that the circumstances are extremely dire for these women. “A lot of women on the streets use socks, newspapers and all sorts of other things. They rub out the newspapers and stuff them into the socks for a make-shift pad. We really need donations of pads because even reusable products need to be washed. Many of these women don’t even have access to running water, so how can you use the reusable products? Period poverty is a nightmare,” she said.
Patty said she has had to collect newspapers and old clothing for disadvantaged women to use and make pads out of them because the need outweighs the supply. She added that the problem is not just in South Africa but outside our borders as well in countries such as Zimbabwe and Swaziland where women are in desperate need of supplies for their monthly cycles.
A 2019 study by Stellenbosch University showed that 30 percent of girls in South Africa miss school when they are menstruating because they cannot afford sanitary products. Patty encouraged people to buy pads to donate when buying groceries because they are always in need. “When you work alone, you can’t do that much. Please donate, that’s my plea.”
Menstruation is not something women and girls should be ashamed of. This also means the language and conversations we have around menstruation need to be more inclusive and positive, especially for young girls.
Contact Patty Ogle: 076 313 2247
