March 8, each year is greeted with excitement and lots of happiness as the world celebrates women. Over the years, there have been various themes accompanying this celebration and this year’s theme is #embraceequity.
This theme sought to clarify the age-long argument of women seeking equity rather than equality.
The truth of the matter is, everyone deserves to be treated fairly irrespective of their gender. If men deserve certain positions, salaries and statuses based on merit, then women should enjoy same if they prove to meet the same standards.
Professional events MC, @1Mr_Wazza, in his quest to impact lives through his work said “before we can fight for equity, we must first ensure that women have the basic things needed to stay healthy and live comfortably.”
He identified poor menstrual hygiene as one of the key issues affecting many Ghanaian women.
The lack of adequate knowledge on the effects of poor menstrual hygiene coupled with the inability of street hawkers and market women to afford the now very costly sanitary pads is what moved him to embark on this project called #pads4street.
The campaign started with a float from the Accra Mall where skaters distributed educational materials to help create awareness while a public address system highlighted the benefits of good menstrual hygiene and the dangers of poor menstrual hygiene.
The float run through the principal streets of Accra with flyers and free sanitary pads being distributed to street hawkers and school girls until the final stop was made at the Kaneshie Market. Here, the education continued and more sanitary pads were distributed to the market women.
Speaking on the campaign , 1Mr_Wazza , Professional MC and organizer of this project said, “I believe in impacting lives with every step I take in this world. If my work and God given talent gives me a platform to touch lives, then I have to make use of it.
“No matter how small you may think it is,touching one soul at a time counts. Sometimes, we skip the basics and think too far off. It is great to preach equity when celebrating International Women’s Day, but i believe before we do that, we have to ensure that the women we are pushing for have access to their basic needs.
“One of such needs I identified to be lack of adequate knowledge on menstrual hygiene and the inability of many street hawkers and market women to afford sanitary pads. I appreciate all of the partners of this project including Yango Ghana who had made a sufficient donation for this to happen, and all of individuals and volunteers who contributed in diverse ways to make this a success.”
“We embrace equity and as a brand, we are open to inclusivity and women empowerment. Supporting street hawkers and market women is a wonderful initiative and we are proud to contribute our quota in putting smiles on the faces of these women.
“We believe this is the beginning of many more impactful initiatives and we will continue to play our part in supporting our women,” added Sophia Silvey, Partner Success Manager, Yango Ghana.
The day was climaxed with great performances from popular Ghanaian dancers Dancegod Lloyd and Afronitaa who also took turns to engage the market women in some fun choreographic routines. In the end, the market women admitted to being well educated and enlightened about menstrual hygiene and were grateful for the sanitary pads they received.