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Speaker 1: Feminality, Health and Wellness. It's twenty three minutes before twelve

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Speaker 1: outlock and this health and Wellness feature is brought to

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Speaker 1: you by Sipler. Stay connected with us today were having

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Speaker 1: a conversation on our Health and Wellness feature about period

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Speaker 1: safety because for many years, the conversation around menstrual health

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Speaker 1: in South Africa is focused on access, on making sure

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Speaker 1: that girls and women can afford and obtain sanitary products. Right,

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Speaker 1: but what if the products themselves are not entirely safe.

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Speaker 1: There's this new study by the University of the Free

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Speaker 1: State that has raised some concerns about the presence of

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Speaker 1: indocrine disrupting chemicals in commonly used sanitary pairs and pantry liners.

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Speaker 1: Pentyliners are products used by millions and millions every single month,

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Speaker 1: but the Department of Health has sought to reassure the public,

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Speaker 1: saying that these products remain safe for yous. But still

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Speaker 1: this has sparked an important and at times uncomfortable debate.

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Speaker 1: Can we truly talk about menstrual dignity if questions about

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Speaker 1: long term chemical chemical exposure remain? Because advocates argue that

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Speaker 1: menstrual health is not just about access, but it's about

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Speaker 1: what we are putting in close, prolonged contact with our bodies,

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Speaker 1: and whether current regulations go far enough to protect the

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Speaker 1: actual users. So I'd like you to share your thoughts

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Speaker 1: on one one eight eight three oh seven oh two.

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Speaker 1: You can send that via the watsuplind as well on

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Speaker 1: oh seven two seven oh two one seven oh two.

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Speaker 1: Tracy Malawana is the founder and executive director of I

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Speaker 1: Menstruat Movement, who is going to guide us through this conversation. Tracy,

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Speaker 1: thank you for making time. Good morning, Good morning.

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Speaker 2: To you, and good morning to the listeners at home.

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having us.

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Speaker 1: No, thank you, this is quite an important conversation. I'm

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Speaker 1: sure you've seen the Department of Health come out and say, well,

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Speaker 1: these products are actually still safe for yous. But I

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Speaker 1: know you've been raising some concerns. Where do you see

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Speaker 1: the gaps.

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Speaker 2: Here so fastly? I think we need to ground this

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Speaker 2: conversation on the fact that periods are not just a

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Speaker 2: personal experience, but they are a human rights issue. When

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Speaker 2: we speak about menstrual howse, we are speaking about a

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Speaker 2: human rights issue, and our Constitution guarantees the right to

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Speaker 2: human dignity amongst the rights and both the integrity related

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Speaker 2: to product safety, and this means everyone has a right

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Speaker 2: to control what happens to their own bodies and they

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Speaker 2: need to be protected from harm. So I think when

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Speaker 2: we speak about product safety, we need to ground that

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Speaker 2: conversation specifically on our constitution which protects us as people

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Speaker 2: who menstruate. And then coming back to your uh that

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Speaker 2: that's the first thing I think that we were that

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Speaker 2: the briefing, the media briefing in person on that day

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Speaker 2: when the Department of Health through the you know, Minister

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Speaker 2: of Health delivered the King the public address saying that

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Speaker 2: we can continue to use menstry our products and they

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Speaker 2: said that you know, they consulted with many people and

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Speaker 2: those things okay to continue using scanshive heads and painting

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Speaker 2: liners despite the endocrime disrupting chem cluts that are founding them.

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Speaker 2: And what we said our responses and organization, we said

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Speaker 2: that it's important for them, as you know, the South

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Speaker 2: African governments, to put in place standards that are you know,

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Speaker 2: transparent to ensure that all of us who are using

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Speaker 2: whatever products, especially a product that comes into like contact

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Speaker 2: with our bodies, including spanitial heads, they need to provide

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Speaker 2: transparency what is in these products. They need to ensure

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Speaker 2: that the proper text testing. They need to put in

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Speaker 2: place standards to ensure that those you know who are

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Speaker 2: using products like sinitary pairs and painting liners, they are safe.

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Speaker 2: They are menstruating with safety, with dignity, but most importantly

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Speaker 2: with the support that they need from their government. So

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Speaker 2: those are I guess some of the key things that

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Speaker 2: we are asking for. We need full transparency to be

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Speaker 2: able to make informed decisions that we are protected by

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Speaker 2: our constitution. As I've mentioned, when you look at both

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Speaker 2: leads and facrity m.

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Speaker 1: But can do you think both things can be true? Though?

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Speaker 1: In that yeah, the products are considered safe according to

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Speaker 1: the Health Department, but then still not sufficiently regulated. What

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Speaker 1: you're thinking around the regulations that currently exist is that enough?

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Speaker 2: So it's not enough. There are gaps. As I've mentioned,

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Speaker 2: they are gett There are toxic you know, chemicals in

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Speaker 2: these products. Our government would need to need to respond

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Speaker 2: to those. Even though they say that, you know, long

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Speaker 2: term exposure of endocrime may not lead to long term

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Speaker 2: sexual reproductive health related issues, it doesn't mean that they

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Speaker 2: are not. They they need to be eliminated completely. So

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Speaker 2: our government will need to put in place standards to

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Speaker 2: ensure that those mainstruators I've mentioned, they menstruate with you know,

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Speaker 2: dignity and most importantly, they menstruate with safety. So we

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Speaker 2: need those standards. We need them to include, you know,

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Speaker 2: starta testing, what are they what exactly are they testing

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Speaker 2: when they're saying they're testing these products. And number two,

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Speaker 2: they need to put in place, you know, disclose what

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Speaker 2: is in these products, so full transparence in terms of

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Speaker 2: ingredients that it's you to make these you know, manstrul

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Speaker 2: our products, especially financial repairs and tempoons, the disposable one.

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Speaker 2: Then they also need to educate us about other products

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Speaker 2: that are out there. I think you know, when that

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Speaker 2: study came to light in February, many of us were

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Speaker 2: having conversations about alternative what are the alternatives, and many

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Speaker 2: people did not know that they are actually unusable menstrual products,

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Speaker 2: including a menstruct cup, which is according to the people

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Speaker 2: who manufacture them. They say they are manufacturers manufactured as

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Speaker 2: you know, a medical device, and you'd know that signatory products,

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Speaker 2: so it's disposable menstrual products are not manufactured as that

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Speaker 2: their manufacturers as consumer goods are similar to other goods

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Speaker 2: that we buy, you know, in our supermarkets. So I'd

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Speaker 2: say those are the key things that our government will

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Speaker 2: need to pay attention to. Maybe one thing to also

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Speaker 2: add in that is that we don't have global standards.

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Speaker 2: I know that within the global community there's a conversation

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Speaker 2: taking place about putting in place our standards to regulate properly,

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Speaker 2: regulate mean through our products in different countries, including South Africa.

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Speaker 1: M I mean, the fact that we still really don't

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Speaker 1: have a standardized sort of practice and expectations and as

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Speaker 1: far as products are concerned, actually quite interesting. I've got

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Speaker 1: some questions coming from our listeners who are joining this conversation, Tracy,

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Speaker 1: and let me start maybe with a call, Yes, a

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Speaker 1: call from East London, Zandila, you're calling us from East London.

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Speaker 3: Good morning, Good morning, Clellan Van Tracy, how are you good?

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Speaker 1: Good? Good as Andela, what's your question? Go ahead?

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Speaker 3: I'd just like to ask granted, okay, I just wanted

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Speaker 3: to ask Tracy, the the duration that someone with a

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Speaker 3: pet also impacts the safety of it, so concidering that

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Speaker 3: you already have issues distributing path and if you're going

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Speaker 3: to irration it and say someone strould use one package

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Speaker 3: for day side income if they say duration of the

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Speaker 3: period is longer than you know, three days or four

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Speaker 3: days and they might have to wait that pad over

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Speaker 3: a prolonged period, does that not also contribute Yes, yes.

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Speaker 1: No, thank you. That's a great question, Andy Laine is London,

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Speaker 1: Thank you, Tracy.

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Vandila for that question. Because we're

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Speaker 2: focusing on what government government needs to do. So the

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Speaker 2: key issue that we've been I guess including as part

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Speaker 2: of our education as I menstruates and other organizations, I

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Speaker 2: know they speak about this according to you know, the manufacturer,

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Speaker 2: but also the house expects. They're thing that we need

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Speaker 2: to use a pad for instance, or use the patter

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Speaker 2: as an example, for three to four hours. That is

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Speaker 2: a standard you know, used of a menstrual pad. But

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Speaker 2: the reality is with period poverty, having so many learners

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Speaker 2: who are s fullgoing, who do not have access to

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Speaker 2: enoughments for our product, then they are forced to use

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Speaker 2: you know, a minstry product longer than the time that

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Speaker 2: or giteration that is set. So those are some of

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Speaker 2: the issues that I guess we deal with. UH and

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Speaker 2: when we speak about menstruating with dignity, safety and proper supports.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, I'll stop there, but I'll just saturation does

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Speaker 2: have everything to do with safety when you speak about

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Speaker 2: menstrual product safety, especially from a personal youth.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, there's also a question about the endocrime disrupting chemicals.

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Speaker 1: Someone who's asking why are they a concern in the

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Speaker 1: menstrual products.

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Speaker 2: So according to the study that was published by the

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Speaker 2: University of Free States and also studies within the club

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Speaker 2: about you know, community or spaces and that the endocrime

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Speaker 2: according to researchers and scientists, they say, if you if

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Speaker 2: you're the long long term or prolonged term use of

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Speaker 2: you know, products that have endocrime may lead two serious

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Speaker 2: sexual reproductive health issues, including you know, in fertality you know,

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Speaker 2: see or as some of these diseases that we see

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Speaker 2: many women struggling with you know, online even on TikTok

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Speaker 2: when you nowadays, when you check sexual reproductive health related issues,

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Speaker 2: especially related to menstrual health, you see so many women

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Speaker 2: struggling with them. So because of that, those are the

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Speaker 2: reasons why endocrime is not good for our bodies. And

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Speaker 2: the minister you say that it's found in you know,

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Speaker 2: lipsticks and other products that we are using, especially as

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Speaker 2: women and also in you know minds when it was

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Speaker 2: explaining what endocrime is, but that does not you know,

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Speaker 2: dismiss the fact that you know, if something as intimate

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Speaker 2: as a pet has a chemical that is likely to

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Speaker 2: cause ham to ask as people who menstruate long term

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Speaker 2: because we use these products on a monkey basis for

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Speaker 2: modern thirtyars, so we are likely to struggle with long

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Speaker 2: term issues and an extreme I guess impact of using

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Speaker 2: products that have endocrime. It includes tensor. So those are

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Speaker 2: some of the key issues that were raised by that

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Speaker 2: studies that we need to be aware of and also

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Speaker 2: need we need to engage our government to put in

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Speaker 2: place standards, but most importantly to protect us as consumers

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Speaker 2: or users of these products and also hold corporate accounted accountable.

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Speaker 2: I've been saying that we should not leave out manufacture us.

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Speaker 2: We need to include them in this conversation. They also

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Speaker 2: have an obligation according to you know, the policies and

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Speaker 2: I guess the constitution of trading in different countries, so

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Speaker 2: they need to ensure that they also protect us from

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Speaker 2: harm as part of exercising cop it's accountability and maybe

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Speaker 2: to just throw our constitution, sorry, our Men's Strand Health

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Speaker 2: Equity Bill which represented in Parliament on the proposed Men's

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Speaker 2: Rand Health Equity Bill which represented in parliaments on the

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Speaker 2: first of April. It does speak on you know, products safety.

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Speaker 2: When you look at chapter three, which is under point eight,

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Speaker 2: we speak about what government needs to do. They need

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Speaker 2: to the Department of Women. It says the Department of Women,

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Speaker 2: along with the Department of Health, they need to put

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Speaker 2: in place standards. Of course they need to have include

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Speaker 2: other departments your subs, your supper, your National Regulator for

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Speaker 2: composer specifications and the Department of Trade, Industr and Competition

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Speaker 2: who enforce as standards that are protecting as finding standards

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Speaker 2: that are protecting us as people of menstruate to ensure

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Speaker 2: that menstruate with dignity, safety, but most important, menstruates with

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Speaker 2: proper support.

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Speaker 1: From our absolutely dignity and safety. Tracy, I'm going to

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Speaker 1: take a quick at break. When we come back, we'll

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Speaker 1: wrap up with some more questions from the what's up

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Speaker 1: line as well that are coming on our seven two

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Speaker 1: seven or two and seven or two. It's ten minutes

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Speaker 1: before twelve seven Elity, Health, and wellness. All right, six

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Speaker 1: minutes now before twelve o'clock, we're just about to wrap

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Speaker 1: up our conversation about period safety. Let's go to Miriam

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Speaker 1: first though. Who's calling us from Campton Park? Miriam, what

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Speaker 1: are your thoughts? Good morning?

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Speaker 2: Hi, good morning Timon.

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Speaker 1: How are you shop shop? How are you doing good?

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Speaker 1: I have a question for my lady they.

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Speaker 3: Is it advisable to use painty liners every day?

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Speaker 2: Is it healthy to use painty liners every day? Or

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Speaker 2: is it advisable?

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Speaker 1: Okay, so using them every single day? Got you? Got

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Speaker 1: you all right? Thank you, Miriam? Yeah, Tracy, thank you.

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Speaker 2: For that question. Miriam. So that's doctor Guyy, which is

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Speaker 2: she's also known as doctor Enda. You can follow on Instagram.

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Speaker 2: She normally speaks gives you know, tips about our vaginas

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Speaker 2: and how to you know, yeah, everything that has to

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Speaker 2: do with vaginas, and she says that it's not advisable

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Speaker 2: because you need to allow your vagina to breathe. So

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Speaker 2: those are some of the things that we need to

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Speaker 2: inform ourselves as people who mainstrate of people who have

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Speaker 2: vaginas to ensure that we are not exposing ourselves to danger.

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Speaker 2: So it's not as advisable based on the medical advice

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Speaker 2: that people like you know a kind of coologists called

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Speaker 2: doctor Zenda would normally give on social media platforms.

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Speaker 1: M absolutely and doctor Ghiny, by the way, is a

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Speaker 1: friend of the show. We have hair on the show

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Speaker 1: a number of times. In fact, I think we're scheduled

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Speaker 1: to bring heir and because we normally bring in two experts, right,

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Speaker 1: doctor Shanghai and Guy need to come and take your

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Speaker 1: sexual health related questions. So Miriam, what I'll do. I'll

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Speaker 1: bank also this question and I'll get doctor Guy need

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Speaker 1: to just explain more in responding to what is healthy

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Speaker 1: and what is not. And then I've got a message

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Speaker 1: here from someone who says height clerment. I'm a South

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Speaker 1: African based in Germany and listening to your discussion, I

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Speaker 1: completely agree sanitary pads must be certified. In Germany, all

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Speaker 1: products are certified and regulated as a law. So women's

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Speaker 1: health is very much protected. And it's exactly tracy what

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Speaker 1: you guys are trying to push for. How do you

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Speaker 1: then advise is there pressure that can be put by

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Speaker 1: the consumers themselves? I mean, I mean as an organization,

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Speaker 1: I see you're pushing really hard to make sure there's

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Speaker 1: these standards that I adhere to. The manufacturers can be

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Speaker 1: held accountable as well, but do you need more support?

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Speaker 1: Is their way? Consumers as well can maybe speak out

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Speaker 1: to put that pressure on government to take this seriously.

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Speaker 2: Thank you so much for that. Of course, we all

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Speaker 2: have a role to play. We have a constitution that

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Speaker 2: outlines our right and also have a responsibility as citizens

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Speaker 2: in South Africa to ensure that those rights are you know, realized.

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Speaker 2: So our start offwards may be grounding this conversation to

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Speaker 2: the fact that our menstrate is calling on government to

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Speaker 2: legislate what we call a menstrual Health Equity Bill. We've

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Speaker 2: written this steals it was you know, put together through

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Speaker 2: an imaginary activism. Then we've given op it to be

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Speaker 2: a menstrual health equity feel it's cost debt, so we

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Speaker 2: know how much it will cost to implement the steal

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Speaker 2: and it comes with an implementation plan. So that's what

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Speaker 2: we presented in Parliament and the reason why I'm bringing

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Speaker 2: that to this conversation is because we don't just need standards.

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Speaker 2: We need our government to legally recognizements and health as

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Speaker 2: a human rights issue. Then we need our government to

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Speaker 2: be able to respond holistically to in short, to the

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Speaker 2: politics of men's insuring that those menstruaights they do so

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Speaker 2: as I've mentioned alia with dignity, safety and support. And

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Speaker 2: when you look at our bill, it speaks about we're

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Speaker 2: calling our government to make menstual products three for all,

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Speaker 2: and under that section it speaks about national standards that

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Speaker 2: we were talking about. Then it goes back to things

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Speaker 2: like menstrual health mental well being, because for people who

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Speaker 2: menstrate does a mental you know, mentally, sometimes we are

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Speaker 2: not doing well as people who menstruate and we don't

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Speaker 2: under and we don't have the support we need at that.

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Speaker 2: It's about those things and it touches on everything that

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Speaker 2: helps to do with menstruation, so people should check it out.

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Speaker 1: It's okay, yeah, well we'll put that out as well. Tracy.

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Speaker 1: I'm sorry I have to come in there because I'm

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Speaker 1: completely out of time, but thank you so much for

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Speaker 1: joining us. That's so in site for Tracy Malawana, founder

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Speaker 1: and executive director of Iye main Street Movement,