I was born in the mid-nineties, a time when girls’ education was not common, and if they got the chance to go to school, some parents could only afford secondary school education. It was the days when girls were forced to learn how to cook rather than read because the only means to measure their girlhood was how their food tasted. Some were reserved for the kitchen, and others were used as a source of wealth creation by their parents. They were married off to rich old men for a fat bride price. At the time, the call for equal education was not as loud as it is today.
The United Nations (UN) Women, an organization that is dedicated to gender equality, was not in existence, so there were not enough champions for girls’ and women’s progress specifically. No one cared about what a girl wanted to be in the future. The focus was more on the future of the boy child because he would end up fathering a home while the girl’s role would be taking care of the children and ensuring there was always freshly cooked food on the table. I remember in our “mama ne dada” (mummy and daddy) – a form of play children born in the 90’s entertained themselves with on Saturdays, the boys were career men and the girls paraded themselves as housewives or market women because that was what we were exposed to.
Our parents were traders who left home at 4 am and returned at 8 pm. The girls I grew up including Sedenam, my bosom friend were part of the group of girls who had already started seeing our period, and the only thing we were told by our mothers was to stay away from boys who spoke in a heavy voice. Fast forward, we got to a stage in the 2000s where the call for girl child education was amplified more than it was in the 90s, but this time around they had to fight for equal access. According to a report by United Nations Children’s Funds (UNICEF), 95 per cent of girls living in rural communities in Ghana miss 20 per cent of school because they did not have access to sanitary pads.
Now let’s break down the numbers, one out of every ten girls you meet has missed or is missing school due to period poverty. Menstruation occurs between four to seven days every month which means a girl who does not have access to menstrual materials; disposable sanitary pads, reusable pads, menstrual cups, or tampons will be absent from school for four to seven days every month which affects her education. Most of these girls come from a home where eating a nutritious meal is a big deal, it is hard to afford food, therefore buying a sanitary pad is a secondary issue. I met Akua in February 2021 at Asaratoase I visited in the Central Region of Ghana for our period poverty and menstrual hygiene intervention program.
She is the firstborn among three girls whose parents are farmers. She told me how it was difficult for her mother to afford sanitary pads for all of them every month, thus compelling them to use tissues and rags during their periods. According to her, the rags and tissues were very uncomfortable as they easily soiled her uniform. To avoid being humiliated in class, she had no other option than to skip school during her period, a situation she said, was consequently having an adverse impact on her academic performance. In order to avert that situation, she decided to help the other farmers in her community after school to enable her to raise money to buy sanitary pads to maintain her period. She also revealed how other girls in her community were having sex with men for money to buy a sanitary pad.
In 2021 the National Population Council reported teenage pregnancy was on the rise in the Northern Region due to the new norm-sex for pad which had become prevalent in the Region. If I had read the report from any other authority, I would have falsified it. However, I was still doubting with the hope that the Council was just trying to put something out just for people to know they are also working.; I was wrong ‘Sex for Pads’ is basically girls sleeping with men in exchange for money so they can afford basic things such as a sanitary pad. The sad thing is, that they do not have knowledge on the sexual health status of the people they have sex with, which means their sexual health is at stake.
Imagine a girl who badly wants to go to school but her parents cannot afford a 3 square balanced meal. Her parents struggle to meet her needs to the extent that buying a sanitary pad is a big deal. If the period was clothes, she could decide to do away with it, but in this case, she can’t control it. At a point where all hope seems to be lost, I won’t blame her if she eventually trades sex for a pad. It’s heartbreaking to know some girls cannot access hygienic sanitary products in a 21st-century world where the earth has advanced and technology has taken over, and digital literacy is on the rise. Girls are still staying out of school and having sex with men so they can afford a common sanitary pad.
Today, the least amount a girl pays for a sanitary pad is 11 cedis—the current price is two times the previous price due to the economic crisis. The high cost of sanitary pads is putting girls’ education at risk. The big debate in most struggling homes is whether to buy gari olonka for the stomach or sanitary pads for girls. And most often, the stomach wins the argument. The World Bank estimates that 500 million women and girls globally lack access to adequate facilities for menstrual management. Not only are women and girls battling with the sanitary pad being a luxury but also, they are struggling with accessing very convenient public spaces for managing their period outside the home. No change rooms in most schools and other public spaces.
Margarett, a 13-year-old JHS 1 at Bremang Catholic Basic School cannot afford to buy a sanitary pad and she is forced to use unhygienic material to manage her period, and she sometimes misses school when the material cannot contain her heavy flow. “I live with my mom and two sisters. Our father died when we were young, my mother is a farmer- she sometimes struggles to provide for our basic needs. She tries her best to buy 1 sanitary pad for all of us. Since that is not enough, we are forced to use rags when the pad gets finished’’ She tells me the rags make her uncomfortable, especially when she has shared the classroom with boys because her period might come unexpectedly.
Lack of sanitary pads for girls who cannot afford them denies their access to fully participate in school. The rags, however, could affect their health due to their poor condition. The World Bank has estimated that 11.5 million women and girls in Ghana lack access to hygiene management facilities that aid in healthy menstrual hygiene management. Most primary and secondary schools’ education and other public spaces do not have change rooms and proper sanitary pad disposal that gives girls the luxury and comfort they desire during that time of the month.
Menstruation is an integral part of every girl’s existence, yet girls and women are facing inhumane activities and injustice. Not only are they absenting themselves from school, but they are also prevented from cooking, praying, sleeping beside their husbands, crossing rivers, and partaking in some social activities, thus violating their rights. Period poverty is a global issue affecting the socio-economic development of women and girls. In the quest to support menstruating girls and ensure they have access to equal education.
The Orange Girl Foundation, a non-governmental organization (NGO), has started a journey to fight period poverty by ensuring girls do not stay out of school due to lack of sanitary materials. The organization has introduced the reusable pad which is a more sustainable way of curbing period poverty and promoting girls’ education. In a 21st-century world, the sanitary pad should not be a reason girls will miss school; let’s reserve that for the 90s. Ending period poverty is collective action.
I call on the government, corporate organizations, individuals, and the media to join in the fight to eradicate period poverty. In a 21st-century world, sanitary pads should not be a reason girls will miss school; let’s reserve that for the 90s.