WINDHOEK, Oct. 15 — Rosatom together with the South African Tourism Ministry and the Russian Embassy to South Africa is providing support to young women from Mpuluzi High School in Mayflower. On October 15, the company held an inaugural event aimed at dealing with period poverty by providing women with personal care products and personal hygiene information.
Are you familiar with the term “period poverty?” It is a global sanitation issue affecting millions of females around the world because women and young girls who menstruate are still ostracized.
It is estimated that roughly 7 million South African girls on their period often miss one or more days of school, totaling up to 20 percent of the school year, and some drop out altogether. The cultural shame associated with menstruation often prevents women from studying and work.
According to UNICEF, 2.3 billion people worldwide live without basic sanitation, making it difficult for women and girls to manage their menstrual cycles. Poor hygiene during the menstrual cycle can in turn cause health risks related to the reproductive and urinary organs. Many also cannot afford personal hygiene products because of the “pink tax” (a markup on women’s products similar to men’s). Period poverty also affects psychological wellbeing as women become embarrassed of their own bodies.
In order to resolve this global issue urgently two things need to be done: breaking the taboo around a normal biological process and providing access to personal hygiene products.
Starting October 15, Rosatom began supporting the girls at Mpuluzi High School in Mayflower, Mpumalanga with sanitary products. The company has also organized a discussion on female hygiene, inviting a local expert to interact with the learners. The hygiene products were supplied by Palesa Pads, an organization, which manufactures reusable hygiene pads with a shelf life of up to 5 years, providing a reliable and environmentally friendly long-term solution to a critical problem faced by young women across the globe.
“The biggest problem of the period poverty is that women have to choose between buying food and buying period products and it shouldn’t have to be a choice. The other issue is silence. Not enough people or companies talk about it. By supporting this initiative, we are not only helping girls, we are also raising awareness. We do hope to see more and more companies joining us in the fight against period poverty. We hope that in the future, this perfectly natural female process will no longer prevent girls and women from reaching their potential and fulfilling themselves because of missed opportunities,” exclaimed Evdokia Polyakovskaya, PR Manager at Rosatom Central and Southern Africa.
According to Ilya Rogachev, Russian Ambassador to South Africa: “My country has never been indifferent to the fate of African nations – in the past Russia rendered assistance to African nations in their liberation struggles against oppression. Today, all be it in a small way, we pledge our support in the liberation of young African women. I believe it is our common duty to help our children to walk along this thousand-mile-long path as long as we can, as we attach our best hopes for a better future to our children, and the generations to come.”
The event is only the first step towards achieving the UN SDG 5 (Gender Equality) in South Africa and overcoming the taboo and stigma surrounding the menstrual cycle. The company plans to continue raising this issue and expanding partnerships in the future.
About Rosatom
Rosatom is a global technological leader, with capacities in the nuclear sector and beyond, and business partners in 50 countries. As one of the pioneers of the nuclear industry, Rosatom has traditionally been at the forefront of the international nuclear market, including nuclear power plant construction, uranium mining and enrichment, and nuclear fuel fabrication and supply. Today, thanks to the unique expertise accumulated over 75 years, the company is conquering the markets of new promising high-tech products. Hydrogen energy, energy storage, nuclear medicine, wind energy, composite materials, logistics business, environmental solutions – in total, more than a hundred new businesses, which cement Rosatom’s standing among the leading tech giants.
The Rosatom business strategy is guided by the international sustainable development agenda. Rosatom makes a significant contribution to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a low-carbon electricity company, developing nuclear, hydrogen and wind energy. Annually, Russian-designed nuclear power plants prevent more than 210 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is the main cause of climate change. The nuclear power plant being built by Rosatom in Turkey is the first nuclear project in history to receive a sustainable loan. In 2021, the company has placed its first issue of green exchange-traded bonds. Since 2020, ROSATOM has been a member of the UN Global Compact Network. By NDN Staffer
