Swaziland: Girls leave school because of no sanitary wear

After a newspaper that Prudence* (16) used as sanitary wear fell from her while she played with friends at school, she left and never returned. The impoverished A-student could not handle the teasing or embarrassment. The prevalence of this problem has the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) considering approaching government. According to SNAT gender officer Bongiwe Khumalo, many teachers have identified this problem at their schools. Very few have been able to assist the young girls because of lack of resources. However, the organisation has no statistics available on how many girls are leaving school.