BONELA extends its accolades to the Government of Botswana and His Excellency President Advocate Duma Boko for the official launch of the National Sanitary Pads Distribution Programme for Adolescent Girls.

This historic initiative, backed by a P69 million investment is more than a health intervention. It is a bold reaffirmation that menstrual health is a human right and that poverty should never rob girls of their dignity, confidence or educational opportunity.

BONELA strongly echoes President Boko’s powerful statement:

“What we are doing today is restoring the dignity of the girl child.”

His call to recognise that human rights are not favours, but inherent entitlements, is a fundamental principle of the rights-based approach we uphold. Poverty, as he rightly stated, is a violation of human rights and we must move beyond temporary solutions to radical, transformative strategies that eradicate inequality at its root.

We also commend the President’s firm challenge to lawmakers to domesticate international human rights instruments into national law. BONELA has long advocated for the full legal incorporation of treaties and protocols signed by Botswana, as signing and ratifying alone is not enough, rights must be enforceable, justiciable and lived realities for all.

BONELA reaffirms its commitment to supporting initiatives that uphold the rights of adolescent  girls and young women, and we stand ready to partner in advancing policies and programmes that promote inclusion, dignity and justice for all.

For more information, contact BONELA on:

Cindy Kelemi at cindyk@bonela.org  or 72385054

Katlego Sechele at ksechele@bonela.org  or 72282025