Ending Period Poverty - Senator Gloria Orwoba’s Fight
As menstrual hygiene day approaches, nominated senator for women affairs Gloria Orwoba has unveiled a bill on provision of free sanitary towels for schools and prisons at the launch of a pad bank dubbed “Glo’s pad bank” in Nairobi.
Orwoba who is campaigning for the end of period shaming said the bill will go a long way in supporting girls to remain in school and vulnerable women groups who’re suffering from period stigma.
The event started off with a roadshow that toured several parts of the city with an enthusiastic team of youths dancing while they distributed pads and brought awareness of the campaign to the public.
Orwoba said that she was inspired to launch the campaign after she was asked to leave parliament because of blood stains on her trousers.
“Since I am always advocating against period shame, I thought I should go ahead and walk the talk,” she said
She added that the stigma around periods has to be stopped since it’s a natural occurrence.
“That is why I have the bill, that I’ve tabled in the senate for provision of free sanitary towels and committed to ensuring that we are talking about the advocacy around period shaming”
The bill proposes the establishment of an inter ministerial committee that will consist of Principal secretaries' in different sectors and the provision of free sanitary towels to all public schools, institutions of higher learning and correctional facilities.
ZanaAfrica Group the company behind Nia pads that were on display at the event says the product was designed with the needs of girls and women in mind. According to the package label, the pad is ultra soft and has a super absorbent gel for leakage protection.
Glo’s pad bank another notable launch at the event is a drive to fill up a 20 feet container with pads to be distributed in all 47 counties.
Cabinet Secretary for Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Alice Wahome who was present in the capacity of chief guest said she was honored to be a part of the campaign because she could relate.
“I would say that as a woman, I identify with girls that do not have access to sanitary pads because I didn’t have access too when I was growing up”
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja who was there to launch the pad bank offered his support to the campaign.
“Because of my daughter, because of my sisters and because of the mandate we have, I want to offer you all the support that I can give you as a leader, as a father and also as the governor of the city.
Sakaja also pledged one million shillings towards the pad bank.
UNFPA country representative Anders Thomsen who’s among the sponsors of the campaign said period shaming was causing girls to miss out on school.
“It’s estimated that a girl can miss an average of 60 days of school in a year, for lack of sanitary pads, this is unacceptable”.
Other guests in attendance included; Parliamentary Affairs PS Aurelia Rono, Senators and MPs from the national assembly and representatives from UNICEF, AHF Kenya, Rangi yetu, LVCT health among others.
According to reports, women in Kenya between 14–49 years dispose 32,687,532 kg of used sanitary towels every year which is about 98% of which 40% ends up in latrines while 58% in open pits. This has dire consequences as it pollutes the environment and compromises underground fresh water sources.
The event is a pre-cursor to the annual Menstrual hygiene day observed on May 28th. It’s a day that brings awareness to the importance of good menstrual hygiene management at a global level.
