They will teach students how to create, use and recycle reusable sanitary towels

The BRA initiative seeks to reverse the results of the study on health and menstrual hygiene that revealed the female academic inequality and that the lack of sanitary towels caused the absence of 20% of the students in Monte Plata

Monte Plata, Rep. Dom.- Adolescents in this province will be trained from next February with techniques on the elaboration, use, recycling and proper conservation of sanitary towels during their menstruation period, within the framework of the project "supporting girls in education and management of health and menstrual hygiene", which is implemented by the BRA Women's Empowerment Initiative.

This program seeks to respond to the results of a study conducted in 2021 by Batey Relief Alliance (BRA), in collaboration with the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, which found that about 20% of girls in high schools in the batey and sugar communities of Monte Plata lose between 2 and 3 days of classes a month when they have menstruation due to lack of access to such a basic article as sanitary towels.

The President of the board of directors of BRA Dominicana, Dr. Togarma Rodríguez, said that, "this situation is so deeply rooted that not only do the girls understand that it is best to stay at home during those days, but also their male colleagues see it as an alternative. When boys were asked whether or not girls should stay at home during their period, more than 65.2 per cent answered in the affirmative. "

He added that this forced failure of girls to attend schools due to the lack of sanitary towels clearly damages their school performance, which puts them at a disadvantage compared to their male counterparts.

Another aspect of the problem that Dr. Rodriguez focused on is that with just one household income to support an average family of four members, the low amount of money in these impoverished and vulnerable communities is often not enough to sustain basic food and housing needs, so buying disposable sanitary towels becomes a luxury that few minors can afford.

"this new economic component that adds to the project will expand our initial effort by making the home safer, more productive and financially sound so that girls maintain their mental, physical, emotional and psychological abilities to stay in school," said the President of BRA Dominicana.

He added that the project aims to help overcome barriers to achieving gender equality rights at school and to promote the empowerment of mothers of such children by improving their economic capacity, through the generation of goods that increase income and, at the same time, stability in the home.

Project intervention

The main objective of the project is to address gender inequality among school-age girls by providing them with access to the tools they need to raise their self-esteem, stay in school and learn to achieve academic success.

The project is aimed at women who will be supported in accessing micro-loans at low interest rates and training in skills to start agricultural businesses that generate income and steps towards financial self-sufficiency and family economic stability.

Girls and daughters of the programme participants will be included to train them in menstrual hygiene and reusable sanitary towels, learn how to use them, wash them and store them hygienically and reuse them during their menstrual cycles. This traditional practice of menstrual hygiene management is profitable, family-oriented and environmentally friendly.

As complementary support, BRA will provide girls and their families with access to paediatric care and maternal and child health, multivitamins, antiparasitic drugs, nutrition and drinking water.

Antecedentes

In 2018, BRA launched the "Women's Empowerment Initiative" with the aim of providing micro loans and skills training to women to engage in agricultural and other microenterprise production to help raise their self-esteem, achieve economic independence, escape violence and contribute to the economic stability of their home. In 2019, the Clinton Foundation implemented it as one of the Clinton Global Initiative's "commitments to Action", expanding its programmatic portfolio towards women and community development.

Founded in the United States in 1997, Batey Relief Alliance (BRA) has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and through this project helps advance the 2030 Agenda through the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are the quality of education, gender equality and access to clean water and sanitation.