Period poverty is a prevalent issue in South Africa, where there remains a large number of people who don't have access to menstrual education or sanitary products.

Creating access to sanitary products, educating the public on the effects of period poverty, and destigmatising the subject of menstruation are all essential steps we can take towards ending period poverty in South Africa and around the world.

That's why many South African celebrities are using their status and platforms to tackle the issue of period poverty head-on. Here are five whose work on this issue you should definitely know about.

1. Lerato Kganyago


The issue of girls being unable to afford sanitary products moved Kganyago to establish her own line of sanitary pads in April 2020 called “Flutter by LKG''.

The project is funded by Kganyago herself and she took to Twitter to announce that the first batch of pads were exclusively for young women and girls in rural areas and would be free of charge.

2. Bonang Matheba


In 2019, Matheba worked with Global Citizen to help bring awareness to period poverty and its direct impact on girls’ education.

3. Shudufhadzo Musida


The reigning Miss South Africa is all about girls' empowerment and sees it as a duty of her role to educate young women on mental health as well as menstrual health.

4. Siv Ngesi


The actor regularly speaks out about gender injustices and reminds men of the privileges that they have.

This thinking led to him establishing his own charity called MENstruation with the slogan, “If men bled once a month, sanitary products would be free. Period!"

5. Mihlali Ndamase


In 2018, she founded the Siyasizana Foundation alongside Instagram influencer Dineo Nono. The foundation focuses on supplying disadvantaged communities with basic necessities.

Read the full article about 5 South African Celebrities Tackling Period Poverty by Khanyi Mlaba at Global Citizen.