Rwandans back sanitary pads campaign

A campaign to end period poverty in Rwanda has received a boost after receiving a pledge for more than 1,000 sanitary pads following a day-long campaign on Twitter.

The I Matter initiative used the hashtag #FreeThePeriod to highlight the project and engage with supporters.

“We had only managed to get to two schools in the north but with a big number of pledgers, we are now hopeful to reach as many girls as we can,” Jeannine Kizima told the BBC.

She, along with nine girls and two boys, launched the initiative in September last year to help girls from poor families acquire pads.

In December 2019 Rwanda removed value-added taxes on sanitary products to make it easier to access them.

“Though this is a good move... the pads are still expensive to many poor families across the country, [and] still a risk to health of many girls from poor families,” Saidath Murorunkwere, a female activist in Rwanda, told the BBC.