As part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, the Zonta Club of Pocatello, District 8, collected and distributed feminine hygiene and personal care items to distribute to 16 local places for underserved women and girls to have free access to the products.
Members delivered products to one stop a day for 16 days. Each location received at least one box of supplies and some even received two boxes.
Club members collaborated with three businesses to have drop-off locations so non-members could donate and participate as well.
Club members selected 16 places around their community that they felt offered the most access for women and girls in to gain free access to the items. The stops included seven junior and senior high schools, three battered women or homeless shelters, a pantry on the campus of Idaho State University and several other locations that offer services or assistance to a wide variety of community members.
Members who dropped off the donations took selfies and posted them on social media at each stop to help spread the message to end violence against women. They also used the hashtags #womendoing and #tamponladies to help attract attention to their cause.
If current trends continue, the number of girls and women married as children will reach nearly 1 billion by 2030. We must take action to stop this number from rising.
Child marriage exists in every society, culture and country. When the potential of one third of the population of the developing world is cut short, we all lose out on a better world.
Millions of lives are torn apart by conflict, displacement and natural disasters. But girls are hit particularly hard. Syria, which is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises of all time, is No. 4 on the Fragile States Index.
Education can be one of the most powerful tools to enable girls to avoid child marriage and fulfill their potential.
FACT: Child marriage continues to exist because of gender inequity.
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