Making sanitary pads available for all females

Since 2010, Janet (not a true name), a 28-year-old Gisagara District resident, has been unable to use sanitary pads.

When she lost her job as a waitress in a Kigali restaurant nearly 10 years ago, it didn’t happen   to her that it would be sanitary pads among the most pressing issues she would have to deal  with.

“Without a job, I was forced to leave town and go back to the village in Gisagara to stay with my grandmother; I live off odd jobs like working on people’s farms. My grandmother is also poor so I had to give up on the pads,” she says.

She added that when you don’t have a job, the Rwf 800 that costs a pack of pads is a lot of cash

“Even for the little I get from my odd jobs, you find there are a lot of other needs that need to be catered for so I had to give up on using the pads,” she said.

As a result, Uwizeye used worn- out pieces of cloth, which she said was a common practice among women who couldn’t afford  the pads monthly.

“Normally, menstrual periods take for 4-6 days, implying that on average three packs of sanitary pads are needed per month, yet the wooly cloth I use, regardless the discomfort, may last half a year before changing them,” she narrates,

Needless to say, health activists have discouraged them using any other tissues except sanitary pads, says Uwizeye.

Uwimana, a former student at Groupe Scolaire Kimisagara , in Nyarugenge, recalls   her menstrual periods during her school days with a lot of pain.

“I remember back in school, where I would skip classes because I was greatly burdened by the fact that I could not afford sanitary pads, and nothing my parents could do because it was a cost they could not afford,” she said.

However, she stresses that for females who usually undergo longer menstrual periods,  this becomes even difficult..

“I believe that it’s not a challenge for only women who reside in rural areas but women in the whole country,  especially those who have no jobs; it is a huge cost that has to be met on a monthly basis.”

Experts have related to illnesses such as causing cervical cancer and other health sicknesses   with the use of towels and other equipment that are not sanitary components.

When such materials are used multiple times, it doesn’t assist stuff.

The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) enacted a resolution in August 2013 calling on all partner nations     to  waive taxes on healthcare pads in order to improve their accessibility and  affordability for young girls, but this continues unfulfilled.

UN estimates that one in ten Sub- Saharan African women miss college during their menstrual cycle, some missing 20% of their  schooling.

Despite the impactful girl’s rooms (Icyumba cy’umukobwa) that were created at various colleges across the nation,  recipients claim health pads stay costly and much is required to guarantee  universal access.

This subject follows a comparable route elsewhere in East Africa, where VAT, Tanzania   and Kenya have been eliminated by several nations.

Kenya, a global pioneer on the issue, removed the tax in 2004, allocating about $3 million   per year to distribute free sanitary pads to girls in low-income communities.

This guarantees excellent health, education and well-being for women who are less privileged.

Julian Ingabire Kayibanda, a well- known advocate for menstrual health leadership, claims the absence of data and expertise to use sanitary goods, not just sanitary pads to guarantee menstrual health, is the primary obstacle  to universal access.

“Once women and young girls continue to lack information on how to use sanitary products, and also their  necessities this will still spur period poverty,” she said.

Furthermore, Rwanda as a third world country, women live in under- resource settings, where women lack facilities that come with sanitary pads such as water,  changing rooms for young girls still in school, soap, among others.

She adds, however, that the taxation of health products that later make them costly for many   also hinders the universal access aspect.

According to Ingabire, more efforts are needed to support initiatives in Rwanda, where local   materials are used to manufacture pads, reusable sanitary pads, and also for those who can not afford them free of charge.

Because, she explains, even those projects that are accessible depend mostly on external   financing, and once the financing stops there will be a large gap to bridge.

By contrast, as other measures are being designed to subsidize sanitary pads and make them available to many, efforts must be made to promote their use, train women on the importance  of using sanitary pads, and educate them about the dangers of not using sanitary products.

Speaking to reporters MP Beline Uwineza, chair of the women’s parliamentary forum, said   sensitization should take the lead, as women and young girls need to understand how to use  health pads.

“I believe that awareness should be the biggest concern as we advocate for free sanitary pads, because we (women parliamentary forum), in studies carried out we have come to realize that even if you avail them, many may not use them because they do not know how to use them.

They also do not know their advantage over the other materials they use.

Secondly, Uwineza adds, before tax is waived people should learn to make use of the raw materials here in Rwanda.

“Rwandans have been working tirelessly to come up with Made in Rwanda sanitary pads, though they are still blighted by lack of quality, since they are at the beginning,” said the legislator.

Verene Kagoyire, head teacher at the Scolaire Murehe Group, says there should be consistent advocacy in addition to

local efforts to ensure that all women have access to sanitary pads.

“This is a real problem, particularly for kids from less privileged households ; subsidizing them to guarantee  accessibility for all should be a permanent solution.

Studies also show that inaccessibility of adequate sanitary materials to absorb menstrual flow   affects not only the reproductive health of women, but also their acquisition of education, as girls often choose to stay at home when they have periods.

According to Emma-Marie Bugingo, Pro- Femmes / Twese Hamwe’s Executive Director, this should be a problem that various  stakeholders should work together, including the private sector.

“It is a genuine concern and nobody can deny that, however it must not be centered at any particular sector, it should be a social amenity that different authorities sit and discuss the way forward,” she said.

Besides, more support should be given to local companies who are trying to come up with alternatives  and promoting made in Rwanda products, she recommends.