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The IFP in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature has proposed that government must
buy sanitary pads and distribute them free of charge to school girls and
communities at large in a similar approach as the distribution of condoms
which are made available free of charge at government hospitals and clinics.

"This issue must be treated with the urgency it deserves and not be shied
away from. Adolescent girls, in certain parts of the country, resort to
using toilet paper, cow dung and leaves during menstruation.  Apart from
impacting on their dignity this also affects their daily routines and many
cannot even go to school at this time, seriously affecting their education,"
said IFP Spokesperson on Health, Mrs Ncamisile Nkwanyana.

"It is disheartening that women and girls, mostly from disadvantaged
sectors, are resorting to harmful alternatives as they cannot afford proper
sanitary towels. Young women are exposed to cervical cancer due to the
alternatives they are using, while others are facing reproductive tract
infections," continued Nkwanyana.

“The IFP believes that sanitary towels must be made a basic human right and
government must ensure they are made available, either free of charge or at
a vastly subsidised price. The IFP calls for a debate in the KZN Legislature
regarding this very important issue,” she concluded.