Ahead of this year’s International Women’s Day, which comes up on March 8th every year, the Queen of Womenhood foundation of Nigeria, Firdaus Abubakar, has embarked on a ceaseless awareness campaign to large numbers of girl-students across the state on the importance of sanitary pads, which, according to her, helps many young girls always come to school and not miss their lectures.
As Miss Firdaus said, providing a girl with underwear and sanitary pads will increase her chances of staying in school by more than 30%, while strengthening her capacity to acquire more knowledge and hence fight illiteracy.
Addressing the journalists shortly after her speech at the college of health science and technology in Kaduna, she pointed out that by giving girls sound knowledge and the means to manage their menstrual hygiene effectively, we’re making sure they don’t miss out on an education.
Keeping girls in school is important to health and development—not only for the girls but for their communities and country, because when girls stay in school, they are less likely to get infections and the teenage pregnancy rate will go down. Hence, the need to join hands collectively towards helping young girls stay in school.
The beauty queen added, “Adolescent girls often lack knowledge regarding reproductive health, including menstruation, which can be due to socio-cultural barriers in which they grow up.”
It is important to educate adolescents about issues related to menstruation so that they can safeguard themselves and hold implications for professionals involved in improving reproductive health.
She stressed that awareness regarding menstrual hygiene is high among the female students, but practice for proper menstrual hygiene is very low compared to studies done in similar settings.
Most of them are not aware of the hygienic practices to avoid infection, odor, and the time at which the sanitary pads need to be changed.
Earlier, the chairperson of the Women’s Foundation of Nigeria, Amina Ibrahim Marafa, said they have organized a call for women (youths and children) to participate more in decision-making through contributing their quota towards the development of the country.
She said that women are very gifted when it comes to home building and child upbringing, hence the need for women to come out and take part in key positions in offices and politics.
In addition, traditional and religious leaders should allow their women to participate and contribute, as they could perform better in some key positions rather than being sidelined and reduced to domestic and home keeping alone.
She charged women to come out and contest for some positions in the coming election and display their talent, as women are seen as the backbone of the world as well as helping in nation building.
while calling on the government to bring in more women in positions of leadership, such as chancellor, chairman, and president, among others.
In her own contribution, the SUG president of the foundation, Florence Bitrus, stated that women have been recognized now as they have been given a special day for celebration. This means they can now come out and air their grievances.
If women could change the world as they have a lot to give, if given the chance to express what they have, it would go a long way towards bringing development to the country and the world at large.
Our correspondent reports that the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day “is breaking the bias.”
