A young reporter with The New Times was on Sunday recognised for her efforts in helping fight against period poverty among students in rural schools. She has been spearheading efforts to provide sanitary pads to schoolgirls from vulnerable households, particularly in Gisagara and Huye districts. According to activists, period poverty and the stigma associated with menses contribute to school absenteeism and even dropout among girls in Rwanda. Sanitary towels remain out of reach for many around the country despite the government’s decision in December 2019 to waive Value Added Tax on menstrual products. The move came six years after the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) passed a resolution urging partner states to waive taxes on sanitary pads to help increase their accessibility. Nonetheless, the decision has had little, if any, impact with many girls out there still unable to afford sanitary pads – forcing some to either miss school or even drop out altogether. And the problem has in recent years been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has ravaged the livelihoods of many families. Now, there have been several private initiatives to help ease period burden among particularly girls from vulnerable households, but it remains a drop in the ocean nonetheless. Yet, if we all took it upon ourselves to help address the issue it could go a long way in easing the situation and subsequently ensure that schoolgirls don’t skip classes or even drop out of school due to period poverty. There are no specific figures about the scale of this problem in Rwanda but one in four girls in Africa miss school every month because of menstrual hygiene challenges, according to Unicef. Indeed, easing access to period products is the kind of social cause that should interest everyone, including the corporate world. There is hardly any better way to give back to society. However, there is a need for a more sustainable solution, which may call for further government intervention, for instance, through subsidies and/or revisiting efforts to produce affordable, healthy alternatives like reusable sanitary towels.
