11 Aug 2022

Production of re-useable sanitary pads are a permanent solution to low income households, who cannot afford disposable sanitary towels.

Speaking on Wednesday during the launch of Bloom Pads project, a company that manufactures re-usable pads in Maokane, Mabutsane Sub District Council, senior assistant council Secretary,

Ms Lenamile Taolo said the project would address challenges in accessing sanitary pads faced by women and girls.

She said the project would address challenges of continued use of unsafe cloths, which exposed women to infections and diseases associated with unsafe measures during menstrual cycle.

Ms Taolo highlighted that as a way of giving back to the community and support to Gender Based Violence (GBV) endeavours, Majwe Mining Company funded seven women who were survivors of GBV with P200 000 to start the project.

“Majwe mining had approached the council with an initiative to empower local communities and requested us to identify beneficiaries and these women were selected,” she said.

She explained that the beneficiaries were being trained as entrepreneurs, noting that the project would make them financially independent.

“The project is intended to produce a minimum of 100 sanitary pads per day, which translates to 2 000 per month,” she said.

The target market, she said was 1 000 women in the sub district as well as primary and secondary school girls, adding that the council intended to be a major supplier of the product.

Department of Gender Affairs, acting director, Ms Lydia Mafhoko-Ditsa said the product would restore dignity of women and girls since they would now have access to affordable pads.

“No one should fail to go to school or any other activities because of lack of sanitary pads,” she added.

She further said the pads would also assist in the fight against GBV since sometimes girls were teased by boys for having stained their clothes due to use of different things such as cloths during menstrual cycle.

“Being teased for such would then affect them psychologically and might have long term effects,” she said.

Ms Mafhoko-Ditsa highlighted that sometimes girls engaged in sexual relations with older men so that they would benefit financially and be able to afford sanitary pads, something that led to different social ills such as teenage pregnancy and diseases, a trend that would be addressed by the initiative.

She said the project was a viable business since pads were used daily in large numbers, and if well supported, their families’ lives as well as that of the general public would improve.

“As the business grows, the women would be forced to hire more people to assist, in that way they would be creating employment,” she added.

Chief environmental officer, Mr Shonga Mosweu said the project was a positive development in protecting the environment.

He said Botswana Waste Management Policy 2020 promoted waste management hierarchy that advocated for environmentally friendly management options such as reduction, reuse, recycling and safe disposal as last resort.

“Promoting products that can be re-used is in a way implementing the waste management policy,” he said.

Re-useable sanitary pads, he said reduced environmental impacts as it minimised plastic use and ultimately reduced impact on human health and the environment.

Mr Mosweu explained that re-useable pads could last for 2-5 years, during which time, production and usage of the cycle of disposable pads would be avoided.

He further said pollution associated with production and disposal would be minimised.

Mr Mosweu said re-useable sanitary pads were mostly made of cotton which was biodegradable hence environmentally friendly unlike disposable pads which used 90 per cent single use plastic that could make about five carrier bags.ENDS