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Lack of access to sanitary pads is violence against women - lobby

 

Lack of access to sanitary pads is menstrual health violence against women and girls.

This is the message a Kibera-based organisation wishes to pass to the state during this period of 16 days of activism.

The Superb community-based organisation says as more girls and women lack access to vital resources, it puts them at great risk and danger.

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Yasmin Nasur, the organisation’s founder, said they are at the frontline of advocating for an end to period poverty.

“We will lobby grassroots women and collect more signatures in petitioning for review of increase of sanitary towels budget to schools,” she said.

The group is among lobbies calling for Parliament to increase the budget for sanitary pads sent to public schools which were reduced in 2021.

Nasur was speaking during the launch of a sanitary pads dispenser in Kibera which helps girls access sanitary pads for free.

She said she hopes the innovation will help inch towards ending period poverty in the informal settlement.

“Two years ago, we had the idea to improvise a used water jerrycan into a sanitary pads dispenser for girls. It really went a long way as women and girls had a very hard time accessing sanitary towels,” she said.

Places where they hoped to get sanitary pads such as schools, were closed, Nasur said, and employees were working from home.

“Girls from Kibera and other parts of the country continue to miss school and others transact sex for pads and risk pregnancy, diseases and gender-based violence."

She said period poverty continues to widen the gender equality gap and thus needed to be solved immediately.

“With support from CARE Kenya, we were able to get the dispenser facilitated with the necessary menstrual health resources for the girls,” she said.

During the 16 days of activism between November 25 to December 10, they will also be having menstrual health management activities across Kibera, to help end period poverty in Kenya.

“We are also calling upon more partners to join us in this campaign because menstruation matters,” she said.

“Just Imagine, if the other gender was menstruating, could Sanitary towels be free? I bet they would,” she said.

She said they continue to hold the government accountable for ensuring women and girls menstruate with dignity.    BY THE STAR

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