By: Razak Baba
Fifty adolescent girls at Asaman M/A Junior High School in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti Region have been provided free sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene items to manage their menstrual cycle healthily. The gesture was spearheaded by Lead For Ghana, a not-for-profit organization with sponsorship from Maiden En Agape, also an NGO.
Hygienic menstrual practice such as the use of sanitary pads is crucial during menstruation. Lack of sanitation facilities, especially for school girls, makes them vulnerable to emotional and physical challenges during their menstrual days.
Poor menstrual hygiene is also caused by a lack of education on the subject matter, the limitations girls face in accessing products, and the stigma that prevented them from reaching their full potential. However, menstruation as a natural characteristic of every woman instead of a curse and the lack of proper management of same should not be the reason why a girl’s education should be truncated.
It is for this reason that Lead for Ghana, a not-for-profit provided free sanitary pads and menstrual hygiene items to 50 adolescent girls at Asaman M/A Junior High School in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti Region. The items were donated with support from Maiden En Agape, also an NGO.
A member of Lead for Ghana, Angela Enyonam Amekudi called for a total scrap of taxes on sanitary pads and other menstrual products to boost menstrual hygiene. She said the essence of the donation was to encourage adolescent girls to improve their sanitary situation.
The Headmaster of Asaman M/A Junior High School, Mr. Alfred Opuni, explained that pupils missed class schedules during their menstruation periods. He commended the Maiden En Agape and Lead For Ghana for their swift response to the needs of the pupils of Asaman M/A Junior High School.
The students expressed gratitude to the donors for the gesture.