Gender activist Data Gordon speaks on Eye Radio's Dawn Show. March 10, 2025. (Photo: Awan Moses

Male parents must recognize the needs of women and girls during menstruation cycles and consider budgeting for menstrual hygiene for their wives and daughters when providing financial upkeep to their families, a gender activist said.

According to UN children’s fund (UNICEF), many school girls face difficulty in going about their daily activities because of lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene services including menstrual hygiene products.

The children’s charity said this situation has contributed to late school arrivals and generally low academic performance, which lead to school dropout and early marriage for many girls in South Sudan.

A group of young reporters empowered by UNICEF to highlight the challenges facing children in South Sudan, believe many girls often use clothes as sanitary pads in schools because they cannot afford them.

Data Gordon – the Executive Director of Men for Women organization – said many men do neglect the necessity to allocate money for managing the monthly menses of their wives and daughters.

Speaking to Eye Radio’s Dawn Show on Monday, he said the absence of menstrual hygiene services is impacting women’s well-being and hygiene.

“For us we give money for food and other needs for our girls we don’t bother for that, we don’t consider it in the budget. We are saying it is important for men to understand that when they are giving money at home, there are other demands for women that you need to factor in,” he said.

“It is very important that men realize that, when you are giving money for upkeep, you should also give money for always for menstrual hygiene and other needs for girls and women. They need lotion and other requirements and they should be included in the budget.”

Mr. Gordon further called for the promotion of positive masculinity to pave the way for gender equality in the families.

“We are striving for gender equality and also fighting for their own rights, we want to have as many women as possible who are educated.”

He underscored that his Men for Women organization works to engage men and boys on promotion of positive masculinity which he says will lead to gender equality.

Mr. Gordon also urged men to be aware of the menstrual needs of their sisters, wives and daughters.

“So many men do not even know what is Always. Always is just a brand of many of the products of menstrual products. There are absorbable products and there are those that collect blood, it is just like having condoms, there are male condoms and there are female condoms.”

“We are here to give awareness that there are some things that does not require the government to come to our houses so that we start doing them, all of us have a role to play in our own families.”