It will be recalled that a Kenyan Senator was sacked from Parliament because of an apparent blood stain on her trousers whiles entering the auditorium. The senator, who is currently in Ghana is partnering with the Kufour Foundation and other stakeholders to push the menstrual equity agenda.
According to the senator, Gloria Orwoba, the tax on sanitary pads need to be scrapped as it deprives most girls of education and the normal life they deserve.
The senator is behind a motion pushing for an increase in government funding for free sanitary pads and the provision of female hygiene products in all public schools. She said the funding would address “period poverty”.
Menstruation is a natural occurrence in women. The phenomenon is often associated with pain, mood swings, and other forms of discomfort. In recent times, the high cost of sanitary pads has added to the pains associated with the monthly flow.
In rural communities in Northern Ghana, the high cost of sanitary pads has compelled some young women to resort to going to men to be able to afford a pack of sanitary pads which has also increased teenage pregnancy.
There are now intensified calls to remove taxes on sanitary pads to make them more affordable for all.
In Ghana, available data indicates that 9 out of 10 girls regularly miss school during their periods. 44 to 54 percent of school girls in Northern Ghana use reusable clothes to collect menstrual blood due to a lack of access and funds to buy a disposable sanitary pad.
Ghana largely imports disposable sanitary products with a 20 percent import tax, resulting in high costs and deepening the existing inequalities, as the income levels of women and young girls in rural areas are low.
In an engagement with the media, Senator Gloria Orwoba, said her experience had made her understand the discrimination faced by some girls in Kenya and other African countries when they are on their period, hence this campaign.
“We have a girl who killed herself because of the same issue that I went through, and now I understand. Having a period is never a crime and we must normalize menstruation”
Former member of parliament for Evalue Gwira Constituency in the Catherine Afeku was at the engagement to throw her support for the senator. She assured me that attaining menstrual equity is possible.
The Kufour Foundation is focused on promoting effective leadership, good governance, and sustainable socioeconomic development. Operationally, these strategic goals are not mutually exclusive.