#ChooseToChallenge
Happy International Women’s Day! As an organization dedicated to overcoming barriers for women so they can achieve their full potential, March 8 is always an incredibly important day in our calendar.
This year, the theme is #ChoosetoChallenge so we are using this opportunity to share with you our first ever official photoshoot of our brand new product: AFRIpads Underwear. This new product is perfectly aligned with this year’s theme because AFRIpads Underwear is directly challenging the unfair reality that for too long, women lack access to high quality, comfortable underwear that fits their bodies.
It’s Time for Change
So, let’s talk underwear!
Pads need to be worn with underwear. We all know this, but it’s often overlooked.
According to UNICEF Guide to Menstrual Hygiene Materials (2019); “The provision of underwear is crucial to girls and women often do not own Underwear. This is of particular importance in emergency settings.”
Our decade of experience-supported by first-hand feedback from the field, partner survey results and concerning anecdotal evidence tells us that the basic underwear needs of women and girls are not being met. When we spoke with refugee women and girls in Uganda about the underwear they received from NGOs and other humanitarian partners, these statistics stand out:
- 38% received underwear that was so ill-fitting, it was considered ‘unwearable’
- 51% were unsatisfied with the quality of the underwear they received .
- 61% stated they did not have enough underwear to manage their menstruation adequately
Designed in collaboration with women and girls
AFRIpade Underwear is your perfect fit: truly comfortable, well-fitting and durable. Made from high quality, ultra-soft cotton-spandex, AFRIpads Underwear is available in 5 sizes and is super stretchy to accommodate a range of body types. Designed in collaboration with women and girls in Africa over the past 2 years, AFRIpads Underwear is perfect in combination with AFRIpads reusable pads – or just as everyday underwear.
AFRIpads Underwear is so much more than just a pair of underwear. It is a step to ensuring women and girls feel empowered and confident in their own bodies, every day of the month.
Make the change! You will transform lives.
Feel Good Underwear
Our underwear is produced in the AFRIpads Factory in Uganda, giving our partner organizations the opportunity to engage in ethical, Africa-based supply. Truly “feel good underwear”. Here are some of the ways we will ensure our brand new product will take us one step closer to gender equality:
Support women in business
Introducing AFRIpads Underwear to our product line will allow us to grow our team in our factory in rural Uganda, where we currently provide meaningful employment to over 150 women.
Contribute to over 5 SDG’s
Procuring AFRIpads Underwear ensures humanitarian and development organizations will be contributing to 5 SDG’s: Good Health and Well-being, Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry Innovation Infrastructure and Reduced Inequalities.
Improve distributions by removing guess-work
Distributing AFRlpads Underwear removes the need for guess work because we have two useful tools: A Recommended size ratio breakdown and an AFRIpads Underwear sizing tape
Ensure girls feel comfortable at school, everyday of the month
AFRIpads Underwear allows a girl to go to school, feeling comfortable on and off her period in well-fitting underwear.
Empower women to fulfill their potential in the workplace
AFRIpads Underwear allows a woman to go work on her period, feeling empowered that her menstrual solution and her underwear are at the standard she deserves.
