Programme Director
Ms Sandra Millar, Dignity Dreams
Mr Yase Godlo, Nelson Mandela Foundation
Ms Nomsa Sekete, Childline South Africa
Ms Sharon Gordon
Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
I would first like to convey our condolences to the Mompati family on the passing of Ruth Mompati.
It is an honour and a privilege for me to address you this morning on the occasion of the launch of the Dignity Dreams Nelson Mandela Day Campaign. Dignity Dreams, a non-profit organisation, has set an ambitious goal to raise funds to distribute 18 000 dignity dreams packs to young girls by 18 July 2015. Your partnership with Dignity Dreams is crucial to realising this goal. I am happy to be associated with this campaign.
When 12 year old Nomazizi first begins her periods, it takes her a day to work up the courage to tell her grandmother. "You are now a woman,” her grandmother tells her, and explains that her period will happen every month.
Sometime cultural stereotypes and failure of life skills education means other girls her age will never get the same support.
But in rural South Africa, where Nomazizi and her siblings live, the family has little money. The girl wonders how she will manage her menstruation. She hardly owns any underwear. Some shops in town sell disposable sanitary pads, but they're too expensive for her family. Her brother, the only family member who earns any money, brings home too little to pay for the expense.
Women improvise with whatever they have, Nomazizi's grandmother tells her - rags, old towels, leaves, grass and even school notebook paper. This has unfortunately also affected women's ability to reproduce over time due to decisions they make at this point in life.
At school, Nomazizi can't imagine asking her teacher, a man, to be excused to use the toilet several times a day. She soon notices that the older girls miss school four or five days a month and sometimes stop attending altogether. Limited options for menstrual hygiene make it difficult for these students - like female students worldwide - to participate in school during their periods, despite the proven benefits an education can have for the health and development of girls, their families, and society.
The story of Nomazizi, sadly, is a shared experience for many young girls in South Africa. It is not just a story about the lack of sanitary products. It is a story of loss. A loss of education. A lost opportunity to beat poverty. A lost opportunity to be empowered as a young girl. A loss of dreams, of hope and a loss of dignity.
As a youth leader in the youth movement, I became passionate about addressing girl's education especially for girls in rural areas. When I was appointed as Deputy Minister in The Presidency, I decided to use my position to bring attention and action to this cause. I met Sandra Miller and the Dignity Dreams team and learned about the valuable work that they are doing. I visited the facility in central Pretoria where the dignity packs are manufactured. I participated in events where the dignity packs were distributed to young girls in schools. I was often asked as to why I am addressing a "women's issue” as a young man. Brushing aside the stereotypes associated with the question, I have repeatedly pointed out that this is not a "women's issue”. It is an education issue as well as a key global development issue.
Girls who cannot afford pads or tampons miss approximately 5 days of school a month, which amounts to 60 missed school days a year. There are many aspects that link girls' attendance to their menstrual cycles. The lack of affordable sanitary products for girls and young women keeps them at a disadvantage in terms of education when they are young and prevents their mobility and productivity as young women. Without sanitary products, girls are excluded from their right to an education as stipulated by the Constitution of South Africa.
Every girl in South Africa deserves access to safe and hygienic sanitary products. Our goal is to help girls and young women reclaim the dignity that poverty denies them and enable them to make a lasting and positive impact on the communities they live in and society as a whole. They will complete high school, will be less likely to get HIV/AIDS or fall pregnant before 18 and will likely earn higher wages and successfully educate their own children.
While we are here to launch the Dignity Dreams Nelson Mandela Campaign for 18,000 dignity packs by 18 July 2015, the development agenda attached to this issue is far greater. This issue touches on at least four of the six United Nations Millennium Development Goals in significant ways.
Goal 1 is to eradicate poverty and extreme hunger. With a safe and hygienic sanitary pad, a young girl can go to school, be educated and use this education to lift herself and her family out of extreme poverty.
Goal 2 is to achieve universal primary education. With a safe and hygienic sanitary pad, a young girl no longer has to miss 5 days of schooling a month or 60 days of schooling a year. She no longer has to drop out of school altogether because she does not have sanitary pads. She can stay in school, complete her primary education before advancing to secondary education.
Goal 3 is to promote gender equality and empower women. With a safe and hygienic sanitary pad, a young girl can have and realise the same education goals as young men. She can develop the strength and confidence that comes with the dignity that she gets from being able to go through her menstrual period with a safe and hygienic sanitary pad.
Goal 4 is to ensure environmental sustainability. The dignity dreams pack contain washable, re-usable sanitary pads. These pads are SABS approved. They require minimal water for washing. Unlike disposable sanitary pads, these pads can last for a period of 5 years. The pads are designed to promote environmental sustainability.
In September 2015, the United Nations will conduct a review of the Millennium Development Goals with a view of adopting the Sustainable Development Goals. So we move from MDG's to SDG's. Whatever the acronyms are, the issues remain the same. The SDG's will form the bedrock of the global development agenda for years to come. Once again, this issue touches on at least 8 of the 17 SDG's in significant ways. These 8 SDG's include:
The research tells us that there are many short and long term impacts of girls staying in school.
These include:
- Lowers pregnancy rates for girls who stay in secondary school, compared to girls who don't.
- Greater access to friends, mentors and role models.
- Greater self-esteem.
- Ability to make better life choices.
- Greater contribution to the economy.
- Lower infant mortality.
- Healthier and stronger families.
So we recognise the importance of young girls having access to safe and hygienic sanitary pads. We understand its impact on girl's education. We understand the effects of girls not getting an education. We can locate the issue within the global development agenda and we see its interconnectedness. We have a sustainable solution developed by Dignity Dreams, and we encourage others to join in. A solution that is already making an impact as we have heard from the testimonials today.
All that is left is for you to get involved. So I appeal to you, as corporate South Africa, as civil society, as individuals. Let's put our heads, hands and hearts together by supporting Dignity Dreams in their Nelson Mandela Campaign to raise funds to distribute 18,000 dignity dreams packs by 18 July 2015. Your support is needed. Every bit helps.
It is appropriate for me to close with the words of our founding father, Nelson Mandela as we are reminded so vividly of his work and legacy at this venue.
"We live in a world where knowledge and information have made enormous strides, yet millions of children are not in school? It is a world of great promise and hope. It is also a world of despair, disease and hunger. Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.”
I thank you.
