First Lady, Arya Ali has embarked on an initiative to fight period poverty and end the stigma associated with menstruation and $6m was raised at a tea this week.
A release yesterday from the Office of the First Lady stated that in January of this year, Mrs Ali had officially announced the launch of her Menstrual Hygiene Initiative which seeks to end period poverty by making sanitary pads accessible to women and girls for free.
As part of this effort, the First Lady held a fundraising drive on Sunday at State House in Georgetown.
The charity event was attended by Ministers of Government, the diplomatic corps, and members of the private sector and is the first of a series of fundraisers which have been organised by the Office of the First Lady.
The project will be rolled out in phases, beginning with the provision of sanitary pads to the most vulnerable.
Sunday’s event amassed some $6 million in donations, all of which will be used to purchase sanitary products for distribution to school-aged girls in the hinterland.
“The gravity of this problem was highlighted in a casual conversation I had with a stranger who pointed out that girls were forced to skip school routinely, and in some instances drop out permanently, because they could not afford sanitary products.
This is unacceptable. No girl should be placed in a situation in which she is forced to absent from or quit school because of her inability to afford sanitary products,” Mrs Ali told the donors at Sunday’s charity event.
She pointed out that period poverty deprives girls of the very education which they need to grasp economic and other opportunities, while highlighting that it can result in harmful psychological effects such as impaired cognitive skills and social isolation.
In order to end to this undesirable state of affairs, the First Lady opined that there must first be an end to the denial of period poverty, after which conversations around women’s health must be normalised, even in spaces occupied only by men.
“We must also disabuse ourselves of the idea that menstruation is exclusively a female concern. It is not. It is a concern for all because when girls are deprived of education and economic opportunities as a result of period poverty, it is the entire society which is affected, not just women,” she asserted.
Ali added that everyone – civil society, government, and the private sector – is responsible for ensuring that every single woman and girl benefits from safe, hygienic menstrual products and the dignity that this affords.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand is collaborating with the Office of the First Lady to have the sanitary pads distributed to girls via the public schools. She announced that the Education Ministry will begin research to determine the impact of menstruation and period poverty on education.
“The Ministry will continue to support efforts which are aimed at ending period poverty and ensuring our girls and women have equal access to educational and other opportunities” the Minister said.
Sponsors of Sunday’s event included: DeSinco Trading, Muneshwers, Impressions Branding, The Wine Vault, Reminiscence Guyana, Star Party Rentals, New Thriving Restaurant, NAJAB’s Trading, Hard Rock, Kirk Noel, Gaitri Bhairopersaud, RS53 Restaurant, Leanne Cakes, Tootie Fruity, Oasis Café, Fab Cakes and Cupcakes, Beauty Blossoms, Kurt Campbell, and Rhea Austin.
