JOHANNESBURG - A Menstrual Health Rights Activist is advising women to stop using unsafe menstrual products immediately.
A University of the Free State study has found hormone disrupting chemicals in several brands of pads and pantyliners marketed as safe.
Menstrual health rights activist Nokuzola Ndwandwe said women should not dismiss any discomfort they may experience.
"I'd suggest that women stop using the brands that they've been using immediately, especially where women have experienced some form of discomfort or some form of heating or rashes, because it's not something that they are imagining.
"It's actually a real lived experience. And so I'd suggest that women perhaps use alternatives like organic natural products that are made from organic cotton that are actually chemical free and actually have the AOK-Tex 100 accreditation and also make use of reusable menstrual products that actually have anti-bacterial content in them, but also when making use of these reusable products, they should be very cautious that they make use of proper hygiene when it comes to cleaning and drying up the menstrual products.
"So in the meantime, I feel like women should actually be very careful. They should not dismiss whatever discomfort and actually treat the women's health issues with the most utmost care and attention."
The EFF says women are being exploited and stripped of their dignity and wellbeing as unsafe sanitary products remain on store shelves.
EFF MP Natasha Ntlangwini the South African Bureau of Standards should also come and play a role.
"By now, their inspectors should have been conducting studies and conducting oversight at these factories. And as I said earlier on there is just simply no outcry, it's silent, it's business per usual. These products are still on the market and we as women, I mean, I have three girls and at this stage of the game, you know, you are so concerned as a woman, you don't know which products to use, which products is safe as a woman, first of all, and also as a mother.
"Because a menstrual cycle is not a decision that you can say this month, I'm not going to decide to have my menstrual cycle. It is part of being a woman. And we are once again being ripped and robbed from our dignity and our health as women in this country."