MENSTRUAL POVERTY AND GIRL EMPOWERMENT

The question of menstrual poverty highlights the need to pay so much attention to the lifestyle of girls and how menstrual hygiene affects it. Menstrual poverty is a condition in which a girl fails to access materials that help her remain clean during her menstruation period. Mphatso Zathu Foundation has taken lead in helping young girls escape menstrual poverty and understands that the absence of such materials have had adverse effects on girls especially those that are going to school. The organization’s various field visits conducted have highlighted a need to scale up the intervention as most girls fail to attend classes, while others shame and others completely drop out.

In response to the situation, the organization took an action by conducting trainings on making of reusable sanitary pads to school going girls and partnered with different schools to advance the cause. The foundation increasingly mobilizes teachers, students and communities to come together towards ending menstrual poverty in order to empower the girls. From 2021 to date, more than 300 girls have benefited from the trainings. On a normal day of school after classes, teachers who are matrons to the students, facilitate the sewing club sessions to make sanitary pads and it is always a vital after class activity. The dedicated matrons work with Mphatso Zathu foundation to support girl child education by helping the girl child remain in school during her periods.

However, the intervention has met several challenges. One of the key challenges highlighted by the foundation remains the absence of adequate materials to making of reusable sanitary pads. Among the layers of clothing that make the reusable pad is a piece of cloth that is water proof. The cloth is expensive and remains a huge hiccup in the intervention. Malawi’s economic problem that is even worse in the rural areas even puts more pressure on the girls and limits them from producing reusable sanitary pads on their own. The Foundation’s plan is to develop sustainable ways to economically support communities towards production of reusable sanitary pads and reduction of menstrual poverty.