SANITARY PADS SHOULD BE FREE AND CONDOMS SHOULD BE SOLD

 

Name: MUGISHA Marcel, Saint Ignatius High School

Sanitary pads since their invention in the 19^th century they have been helping women and girls in their puberty age to face they menstruation period monthly while condoms have been introduced in a way of protecting people having sexual intercourse from transmitting sexual diseases when one of the partner is infected. One of the most significant current discussions is that for menstruation isn’t a choice, sanitary pads should be free and for sex is a choice, condoms should be sold. In this paper I argue that they should both be free because this would reduce young girls’ stress and help them in saving, on the other hand free condoms helps in reducing the transmission of STDs and help in family planning also.


First thing to remember is that sanitary pads reduce women and girls’ stress. In a research conducted by the Plan International UK it has been noticed that at least one in ten girls has been unable to afford sanitary products and this simply explains the fact that by the allocation of free sanitary pads by the country or a certain organization would help in solving such kind of problems associated with dropping out of school by teenage girls notably in 2014 almost 23 million girls would drop out of school due to lack of sanitary products. Indeed the country’s step to help young girls in particular to face these difficulties would be a pillar in achieving the aim of gender balance and helping girls and women to settle in the society to be able to demonstrate their abilities.


As a matter of fact, free sanitary pads would help girls in saving. In surveys initiated results have

shown that 69 percent of the respondents think menstrual products are expensive and some results have also shown that the average woman spends above five thousand dollars on sanitary products and over two thousand dollars in replacing damaged underwear due to menstruation in her reproductive lifetime. With respect to free sanitary pads available the money which would have been spent on them would act as a source of primary savings for girls which in case it’s used effectively in the future they can be talking about that money in terms of business and making profits to help them in their livings rather than spending on sanitary pads.


Then again condoms are of great importance in controlling the transmission of STDs (Sexual Transmitted Diseases) in the society including gonorrhea, HIV/AIDS and others. 35 to 40 million people worldwide were infected by HIV in 2020 and there are more than 600,000 new reported cases of HIV/AIDS each year. These are statistics which should make every nation wonder and feel involved in coming together to reduce these numbers by taking measures one of which is providing access to free condoms to their citizens. Around the start of the 21^st century many states started providing free condoms to their communities with a sense of reducing HIV/AIDs infection and this has been providing great results so far because there is a chance of 70% of not being contaminated when exposed to HIV with constant use of safe standard condoms.


Another key point is premature pregnancy and family planning. The provision of free condoms targets young girls who are impregnated as a result of having unprotected sex. Yes, sex is a choice but mostly on teenagers, sexual behaviors may be out of control and because of different factors like peers and curiosity which force them in having sexual intercourse, this is where condoms help. A recent study in Dallas showed that 54% of teen mothers drop out of school which means they are being denied of some opportunities. Free condoms are also appreciated by families because they help them in family planning and this has also been one of the country’s programs notably here in Rwanda in need of controlling overpopulation and its side effects like poverty in families and increase in crime rate.


As a result of sanitary pads and condoms being free as suggested in this essay there would be some hierarchical consequences associated with that like leaving a gap in some country’s financial plan according to the amount of budget available and based also on the general aim of the country in terms of development to a certain standard, not forgetting that these sanitary pads and condoms require raw materials and some budget for their production but in comparison these requirements are not of the same cruelty as the consequences of not making them free and of course these measures would cause a certain loss to the business who are used to selling these products to make income and to the government investing it’s funds in the production of these products.

All in all, based on different facts shared above on why I think both sanitary pads and condoms should be free despite of obstacles led by financial issues, I would suggest that in my opinion sanitary pads would be provided for young girls who has started experiencing changes especially in schools and other girls and women who have been notified to not being able to afford them neglecting their years because menstruation doesn’t choose a poor or rich person so since it’s a common thing there should be some support for those in need. Equally to the distribution of condoms there should be a strategy on making them free and available in the community to help fighting the consequences of unprotected sex. And as Dalton Trumbo said, “Nothing is bigger than life.”