Schools make pads to curb girl-child dropout
Pupils of Kyembogo Primary School demonstrate how they make sanitary pads
at the school in Kyenjojo District last Sunday. Photo by Paul Tajuba
What you need to know:
Education officials say the move is aimed at helping girls who experience their menstruation yet cannot afford to buy the readily available sanitary pads
Government-funded schools in five districts have started skilling pupils in making sanitary pads for girls to curb female pupils’ absenteeism from school during their menstrual period.
In a pilot project that started at Kyembogo Primary School in Kyenjojo District in western Uganda, pupils mainly girls from Primary 3 to Primary 7 are being taught by teachers how to make pads. The girls in turn teach their fellow pupils.
At a function held at the school on July 6, pupils presented to the participants samples of the pads they made.
urrently, the pupils make their own pads and also provide to those who forget theirs at home or don’t have at all.
Kyenjogo District Education Officer (DEO) Gertrude Tibakanya asked government to remove taxes on materials like refined cotton, towels and already made pads to increase access to the sanitary towels.
“Government has delayed to scrap taxes on sanitary pads. Scrapping taxes would make the pads cheaper for women to access and improve on sanitation,” Ms Tibakanya said.
Ms Jacqueline Kajobe, the senior woman teacher at Kyembogo Primary School, told Sunday Monitor on Thursday the idea of pad making was initiated by SNV, a Netherlands civil society development organisation which taught the teachers how to make them.
“There was a lot of absenteeism when female pupils would be in their menstrual periods and some of the pupils were dropping out. Some could experience their period at school without pads yet the school and some parents could not provide them,” Ms Kajobe said.
