Feature: Namibian rural girls struggle to acquire sanitary towels

Cindy Shikongo, 16, misses four days of school every month because she cannot afford sanitary towels to use when she is on her period.

She is one of the many rural learners in the country who have to endure this struggle.

"Life stops for me when I start my period. I withdraw from everyone and go into a shell, so that people do not know what I am going through," she said.

Sanitary towels are not regarded as a basic need by most parents, while African culture and tradition prevents many mothers from speaking to their daughters about menstruation, making life even more difficult for many rural girls.

Shikongo started having her periods at the age of 13, just after starting Grade 7.

She said it was a dreadful time for her.

"It is not easy to access sanitary towels, because of financial problems, and also because parents are very ignorant. They do not prioritize such items," she said.

"It is very difficult to concentrate in class, because you are more concerned about what is happening under your skirt. You are not free among friends and you are quiet and the teachers wonder what is going on," she said.

The young lady was raised by her grandmother, who never mentioned anything about the subject, and so she went through her first experience alone.

"It was a very difficult time for me, because I did not know what to do, and I did not have anything to use. I was also scared to tell anyone, because most girls my age had not started menstruating," she said.

According to Haimbili Haufiku Senior Secondary School Life Skills teacher, Helvi Iita, the situation is grimmer for rural girls because most of them are not raised by their biological parents.

She said most guardians can only manage to buy the most basic food items, and sanitary towels are considered as luxury.

"What we have discovered is that most of these girls have no idea what to do when they start their periods. Even those who can afford sanitary towels do not know even how to use them.

"And because they are shy about their ignorance, they end up hiding and concealing that they have started menstruating," Iita said.

There are about 600 girls at the school and Iita believes that over half of the girls struggle with the menstruation issue.

Another student, Olivia Lukas, who is being raised by her aunt, after her mother passed away when she was just nine years old, related how having so many girls and women in one household can be a huge challenge when it comes to sanitary towels.

As an alternative, the 15-year-old cuts pieces of clothing and then stuffs them in a sock to form a makeshift sanitary towel.

At school, Lukas also makes use of foam during menstruation, just like many of her peers.

For her, menstruation consists of constant trips to the toilet, to check whether she has soiled her Haimbili Haufiku Senior Secondary School uniform.

The school is situated in the east of Eenhana, in the Ohangwena region, northern Namibia.

Jonas dreads the time leading to her menstruation, and she sometimes becomes depressed, because it is a very uncomfortable time.

School Principal Rabanus Shaninga said that the lack of sanitary towels is a very big problem at the school, which is causing learners to miss classes quite often.

He is also concerned about schoolgirls flushing makeshift sanitary towels down the toilets, which he said is wreaking havoc with the school's plumbing, often causing major blockages.

Namibian Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture Permanent Secretary Sanet Steenkamp said that the menstruation issue is critical, adding that girls often spend over three days away from school every month, when they are on their periods.

Steenkamp said schoolgirls who resort to different makeshift methods during their menstruation, exposes themselves to health problems.

The ministry's Deputy Director for Diagnostic Advisory and Training Programmes, Aisha Wentworth, said that they had considered introducing reusable sanitary towels, but these were considered too unhygienic, especially in the light of the ongoing drought.

She said that questions were raised as to how they would be washed, especially with the shortage of water.

Health experts have also warned against the use of cloth and other materials in place of sanitary towels, as they may cause infections.

"Former First Lady Penehupifo Pohamba's office previously had a campaign to collect sanitary towels to donate to rural schools, but the project failed because of sustainability problems," Wentworth said.

The experiences of the schoolgirls at the Haimbili Haufiku Senior Secondary School are a microcosm of what is happening across the country.

The taboos and myths surrounding this subject of menstruation also contribute to the culture of silence and shame, which stops young girls from sharing with others what they are going through. Enditem