First ladies are usually seen as the soft sell for their husbands, who is President, and his ears and eyes to the ground. Guyana’s first ladies have taken on different roles, from being in government, leader of the party women’s arm and to lesser political frontline roles. Mrs. Arya Ali is clearly carving a role for herself that is unique in some regards. The role also includes the adoption and escalation of the pomp and ceremony of her immediate predecessor, first lady Sandra Ganger, who too did fantastic work empowering women and creating opportunities for second chances.
Putting aside the exaggerated flamboyance- including the new seal of the first lady, an office with no official or constitutional role and having heads scratching about protocol in Guyana- Mrs. Ali’s recently launched sanitary pads project is laudable. According to the Department of Public Information, the Menstrual Hygiene Initiative seeks to end period poverty by making sanitary pads accessible to women and girls for free.
This may be an issue not known by many or the reported gravity of the situation. Regardless of the amount girls affected they cannot grow into womanhood and play a meaningful role in society if they are hindered in enjoying a most basic right, i.e. education. That it is being brought to the attention of the Guyanese public girls are being forced to skip or drop out from school because not having an essential item is unfortunate.
As the editorial was being written the question was asked of older women if they skipped or dropped out of school because of the stated reason. They advised that in their days in school, including the 1980s, sanitary napkins were homemade (cloth) and at times both (manufactured and homemade) were used. It was further advised, experiencing a menstrual cycle did not prevent going to school unless having cramps or other illness associated with having a period. Making this known does not in any way deny modernity, the inability of poor families to provide this essential, and the impact it has on girls being able to attend schools.
No efforts must be spared to ensure the education of girls if Guyana values gender equity and sees this as pivotal to human and national development. That being said, concern that this project may be selective and not national and therefore not reach every deserving girl, in every region, in every school is real. Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, in applauding the effort, said she will be working with the first lady to ensure the delivery of this good in the public schools. Guyanese hope this will include all public schools, regardless of political stronghold, village, town, region and mission. It is observed the first lady said the first phase will target the Hinterland. The implementation and effectiveness will be monitored.
It would also be helpful to note that girls should not feel insulted or shamed for receiving the item and made to think they or family have a political obligation to the government. The Menstrual Hygiene Initiative should be free of the partisan, petty politics that have become characteristic in society. It is enough on a child’s mind pursuing an education when her home is deprived of basic needs and she’s personally deprived of essentials.
Girls need no further stress or humiliation to hinder their right to an education. As noted by the first lady, support for this well-deserving project will come from a cross section of businesses that the girls and their families would have given patronage to, sometime or the other. Nothing less than respect should be meted out to Guyanese girl children when those sanitary napkins are made accessible to them. They need to see and feed off of society’s encouragement and love, not spurn, political hate or spitefulness.
