The Ujima Friends Peace Center recently announced its partnership with the Sankofa Artisan Guild as part of a new initiative to provide African women with reusable, sustainable menstrual products.
Known as the Pan-African Sisterhood Health Initiative, or PASHI, the program includes dozens of women and youth in the Philadelphia area who create reusable menstrual products using sewing machines and fabric.
With the project’s roots stemming all the way back to 2019, the group, led by Black Women elders with a love for community work and creating, donate their efforts primarily to ensure that everyone has equal access to “menstrual hygiene management.” The program for environment-friendly products and undergarments specifically began to ensure that no one’s education is affected by period poverty.
Amongst the products made are carry pouches and masks. The program also provides women visiting from Sudan with proper training to carry over the teachings to their hometown.
“We use 100% cotton fabric. We researched and found a commercial product called Zorb, a 100% compressed cotton that absorbs liquid that is seven to eight times its weight,” said the co-founder Maisha Sullivan-Ongoza per the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Then we used a laminated cotton material as the water-resistant layer.”
Previous research has found that menstruation can be costly for women in a large number of African countries. In Kenya, sanitary pads are considered to be the second most expensive monthly expense for families, ranking second only after bread.
Per a BBC survey released last year, women in Kenya need to spend approximately 0.7% of their minimum wage on sanitary pads to buy two packets of the product. The country comes in ninth after Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Africa.
The menstruation pads are reportedly the most expensive in Ghana, with women dedicating 13.2% of their minimum wage on approximately 14 to 24 pads. The cost roughly equates to 11 cedis on pads alone for every 80 cedis they earn.
For those who are unable to afford the products, women often tell stories of being taken advantage of by men who promise them pads only in exchange for sexual favors.
To combat the rising costs of menstrual products, women in Ghana protested outside of parliament last year. The protests specifically called for the removal of the “tampon taxes” imposed by the government.
“It shouldn’t be this way. The fact that a woman has to choose between a loaf of bread, sustaining her family and menstrual products is really sad and concerning,” said South African activist Nokuzola Ndwandwe per BBC. “This is a natural, biological process that comes every month so you have to neglect your autonomy over your body for the survival of your family. Menstrual products should be free.”
