Harmony’s aim is to allow all school girls to attend school with dignity during their menstrual period.

In our patriarchal society, the harsh reality is that girls have fewer options to choose from in an already shallow pool of opportunities.  Women are more likely to be infected by HIV and run a very real risk of abuse and rape.  Basically, women’s lives are hardly a bed of roses and on top of that, we have to cope with monthly periods.  In light of everything else it might seem a triviality, but it is often a time of great anxiety and for many young girls in our country, this is a time they absolutely dread” (Darlene Smith, Marketing Director, Lilets).

 

Menstruation is a taboo subject, a secret not spoken about.  Young South African women, mostly from very low-income, uneducated, unemployed families and living in harsh conditions with little or no access to running water and ablution facilities, whether in an urban or rural environment, do not receive any financial, emotional or practical support and guidance from family members, schools or the community regarding menstruation and puberty.  They are left on their own to address the challenge, and as a result, school absenteeism rates are high and school performance is affected.

 

The statistics seem to be  2.1 million young girls, between the ages of 12 and 18 years that are living below the poverty line in South Africa, need  to resort to using old clothes, rags, newspapers, leaves, bark and grass because they cannot afford sanitary towels. Girls who cannot afford pads or tampons miss approximately five days of school a month, which amounts to 60 missed school days a year.  This issue is obviously not restricted to school girls and affects impoverished women of all ages e.g. university students, young women seeking first time employment etc.

Research done  shows that young, post-pubescent South African schoolgirls from marginalized backgrounds miss up to 60 days of school a year due to menstrual challenges. This is due to not having access to sanitary pads, while not receiving adequate support and guidance when going through puberty.

 

Such challenges have created a viable opportunity  the Harmony  NPC whose sole purpose will be to ensure that young, school-going girls between the ages of 10-18 (Grade 5 to Grade 12) across South Africa will have access to free feminine hygiene products on a monthly basis, together with the opportunity of education on puberty and feminine hygiene (and any other pertinent issues such as sex, HIV and unplanned pregnancies) from local health-care workers and educators. 

 

We need to have an approach that can improve knowledge, provide comfort and security and ensure the sustainable supply chain of feminine hygiene products, at no financial cost to the end user.

 

If this can be done, we will be improving the education levels, the lives of these young women and make a significant impact on reducing the difficulties and hardships they face in an already hugely challenging environment.  Comfort, dignity, support and independence are some of the basic human needs which will be addressed with this social venture. These young women will be given the dignity they deserve in dealing with their monthly menstruation. They will not need to miss school to stay at home to ‘bleed’ or use unhygienic and ineffective products (leaves, grass, rags, facecloths or newspaper).