Zanzibar First Lady reassures continuous supply of free sanitary pads
ZANZIBAR: ZANZIBAR First Lady Mariam Mwinyi has reassured girls in the Isles that they will continue to receive free sanitary pads to ensure their school attendance is not interrupted.
“I urge other stakeholders, both public and private institutions, to support girls’ development through supporting the sanitary pads distribution programme. Let us ensure that menstruation no longer affects girls’ school attendance,” she said.
Ms Mariam Mwinyi, the guardian and Chairperson of the Zanzibar Maisha Bora Foundation (ZMBF), made the statement during her visit to the “Tumaini Kit” Sanitary Pads factory at the Mnara wa Mbawo area in Unguja Urban district.
She also held talks with Ms Marion Tasker, Chairperson of the National Police Aid Charity in the United Kingdom. ZMBF has been producing the pads under the ‘Tumaini (Hope) Initiative project’, which aims to produce enough sanitary towels for the girls, leaving no girl behind in accessing the pads.
Ms Tasker praised the efforts and the good work done by the Zanzibar Maisha Bora Foundation in ensuring that girls in the isles, especially in rural areas, grow up and complete their primary and secondary education without absenteeism over menstruation.
Ms Tasker is the founder of the ‘Tumaini Initiative’ project and she is the one who trained the young people who make the “Tumaini kit” pads, two years ago.
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In March last year ZMBF launched its three-year strategic plan and the Tumaini Initiative project, which aims to produce more than 20,000 sanitary napkins per year and distribute to adolescent girls in schools: primary and secondary schools in Unguja and Pemba.
Across Africa and around the world, girls miss school every month because of this natural phenomenon.
This causes millions of girls to drop out of school once they begin menstruating. Girls are further affected by the stigma that’s often attached to periods, because those around them often don’t know much about menstruation either.
The Zanzibar Maisha Bora Foundation has been working closely with government institutions including the Zanzibar judiciary, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries the Ministry of Community Development, Gender, the Elderly and children; the Ministry of Information, Youth, Art, Culture and Sports; and the Ministry of Trade and Industrial Development.
