Nakuru: A community-based organization has rolled out a campaign to eradicate menstrual period stigma and poverty with the intention of promoting menstrual health, gender equality, and dignity. The initiative by Young African Women Initiative (YAWI) is primarily focusing on ending menstrual period shame and associated harmful stereotypes and barriers that deepen gender inequality and limit opportunities for adolescent girls who experience menstruation.
According to Kenya News Agency, YAWI Executive Director Ms. Fidelis Karanja stated that the campaign, which kicked off at Naka Comprehensive School in Nakuru, aims to promote menstrual health to safeguard the dignity of female pupils and ensure they can fully exercise their rights. Despite being a natural and healthy part of life, Ms. Karanja regretted that menstruation is still surrounded by stigma rooted in taboo and misinformation, adding that the initiative is committed to ensuring that females undergo the menstrual period with dignity.
Ms. Karanja lamented that beyond the stigma, challenges in managing menstruation continue to create additional barriers for pupils, including lack of access to menstrual health products, lack of information, and inadequate care for complications, which she said exclude female pupils from accessing their basic rights. She emphasized that lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, sanitation infrastructure such as private toilets, handwashing facilities, and menstrual hygiene education could prevent women and girls from reaching their full potential in the classroom, in the workplace, and at home.
The Director cited a case in 2019 where a schoolgirl on her menses committed suicide after being called dirty and sent home by her teacher. In addition to community-level engagements, Ms. Karanja said the campaign is advocating for stronger action from government, policymakers, and partners to enhance the implementation of menstrual health and hygiene policies and increase funding for menstrual health initiatives.
Ms. Karanja pointed out that menstruation is a good indicator of female fertility and therefore men and boys need to support the natural bodily function if we are looking forward to seeing generations in the future. She indicated that through the initiative, male pupils are being taught about menstrual hygiene and health to enable them to understand menstruation as a normal bodily function that occurs as part of a woman’s monthly cycle. “We are involving boys in this conversation as well as having their proactive participation to come up with innovative ideas that will ensure dignified menstruation experiences,” she said.
During the occasion, YAWI donated over 300 sanitary pads to girls. The pupils were also taught proper ways of handling sanitary pads when put on, proper ways of disposal, and checking the quality of sanitary pads. Naka Comprehensive School head teacher Joseph Salano stressed the need for increased government funding for free sanitary pads and the provision of sufficient female hygiene products in all public schools. He suggested that state, non-state actors, and individuals collaborate to raise awareness of menstrual hygiene issues and support Kenyan women and girls in realizing their reproductive rights.
Salano noted that social restrictions and cultural beliefs and myths hinder effective menstrual management, consequently affecting the daily lives of girls and women on how to access menstrual products. He observed that despite their exclusion from discussions on menstrual health and hygiene, male teachers and boys could play a crucial role in providing psychosocial support to girls and women.
Keith Waithera, a pupil at Naka Comprehensive School, indicated that access to safe, decent menstrual health and hygiene improves mental wellbeing and boosts school attendance, leading to better grades. She said there was a need for quality and affordable reusable sanitary towels, especially for women and girls in low-income areas.
According to the United Nations, one in ten African schoolgirls misses school during their menstruation, and many of them, studies show, have ended up dropping out of school altogether after lagging behind month in, month out. According to government data, only an estimated 46 percent of women and girls in rural areas and 65 percent in urban areas have access to and use disposable pads. Many use toilet paper, pieces of blanket or cloth, or natural materials to handle their menstruation. Apart from dropping out of school, girls and women have endured poor hygiene, urinary tract and vaginal infections, early pregnancies, and STIs. The victims often feel unwanted.