Days for Girls Eswatini

            (Musa Dlamini Days for Girls Ambassador) Days for Girls was invited to give a presentation to 23 church leaders on the importance of incorporating menstrual heath conversations in church programs. This would help break down the stigma around menstruation, menstrual blood is often considered dirty, and some religions believe that a woman should be isolated on her red days. It is for this reason that MH education should be offered in the church to cancel out false ideologies about menstruation in order to build the self-esteem of menstruators and instil pride as well as dignity of being a menstruator. Moreover, cooperating life skills topics in church can be a valuable way to engage with the congregation and community on to influence positive daily decisions. Here are some ways churches can promote healthy lifestyles: - Encouraging   healthier ways of living - Christians are preached to honour their bodies because the body is the Lord's te...

                                             (Malkerns Market) Days for Girls has proven to be unstoppable. We continue to take on market spaces by bringing Menstrual Health (MH) education and the DfG washable pad to the people. Our Goal is to take action towards raising MH awareness in efforts to put MH on the agenda. Days for Girls also uses the tool of social media and other media platforms to break cultural taboos and stigma around menstruation, by giving accurate MH education and improve MH resource accessibility. MH is interlinked with several SDGs therefore it is pivotal for MH to be made a priority. Additionally, prioritizing MH is a way of empowering girls and attaining menstrual equity.             ( One Billion Rising GBV awareness event)   DfG sets up stalls in different markets in Eswatini to display our washable, cost-effect...

  70% of adolescent girls in Eswatini lack proper access to menstrual health (MH) education and resources as more than half of the Swazi population live under the poverty line. This causes restrictions in their daily life. Girls face numerous barriers to access safe and healthy menstrual products and education causing effects consistent with multiple levels of the socio-ecological model. At individual level, they are largely unaware of menstruation prior to menarche, leaving them unprepared for the experience, at family as well as social level; menstruation is stigmatized and at institutional level, they experience menstruation-related shame, embarrassment, and many schools have inadequate bathroom facilities. Poor menstrual hygiene leads to urinary or reproductive tract infections and affects the well-being of students. Girls do not attend school during their period due to fear of bullied which is a result of stigma around menstruation, inadequate toilet facilities and lack of acc...

 (Puleng Sithebe DfG Ambassador) Days for Girls Eswatini (DfG) was honoured to present on how period poverty enforces gender-based violence and gender inequality at the One Billion Rising Eswatini GBV awareness event. Puleng Sithebe (Days for Girls Ambassador) took on the stage to share powerful insights on the effects of period poverty. She further urged the Eswatini government to recognize period poverty as a critical public health issue, as this would be a significant step towards ending gender inequality and gender-based violence. Key points from the presentation. Breaking Down Stigma: DfG recognized that due to stigma, girls did not have a supportive environment to menstruate. They faced bullying from boys, and lack of menstrual health education resulted in embarrassment and shame. The solution lies in educating both girls and boys about menstrual health, by so doing, boys become supporters of menstruators, and girls can menstruate with pride and dignity.   Providing a ...