MENSTRUATION AND DIGNITY

Suki* was at her wit’s end. Her adolescent daughter had finally become a young woman. She had started her menstrual period at fifteen and the proud mother was patting herself on the back for having prepared well for this day.

When most young girls are terrorized by this important physiologic step, Suki’s daughter was bubbling with confidence and ready to take on the next phase of her life with pride. Her period started on a Saturday morning at home and after informing her mother, she took a shower and put on her sanitary towel as her mother looked on. Suki was happy to have demystified the whole process for her daughter well in advance.

The duo went out to a celebratory lunch to induct the young lady into her new status. Suki even took her shopping at her favourite clothing store and she was allowed to indulge in her favourite ice cream and a movie.

What started out as a wonderful venture for mother and daughter was soon nipped in the bud. Suki’s daughter could not tolerate sanitary towels. By the end of the day, she had broken out in a fine skin itchy rash in the pubic area and upper thighs that landed her in the hospital emergency room.

What a blow that was to Suki! All the while she had prepared her daughter to face her periods with ease, it had never crossed her mind that the disposable sanitary towels that many women used could be out of bounds for her daughter. She was back at the drawing board to figure out what her daughter could safely and conveniently use.

In most parts of the world, menstruation is something that is never talked about in public. Most young girls are left to fumble with such an important step in life, leaving them bewildered and confused. It gets worse if the menses come with medical complications such as severe pain or excessively heavy flow.

As a country, we are making slow but sure steps in ensuring that every woman can go through her menstrual period hygienically and in a dignified manner. However, we are still far from achieving that target. 65% of women in Kenya still lack access to menstrual hygiene products.

Kenya is the first African country to work on coming up with a menstrual hygiene policy and strategy. In addition, the country has been providing sanitary pads to school-going children in disadvantaged communities in a bid to ensure that they are not disadvantaged in any way by their physiology.

To this end, millions of sanitary towels have been distributed across the country and hundreds of thousands of young women can afford to smile. They do not have to miss school because of a period. They do not have to make do with rags, old sponge torn from mattresses or pieces of old blanket.

While Suki’s daughter sat at home in dismay, wearing a wad of cotton wool for a sanitary towel, Suki was up all night on her laptop seeking solutions. It took a loft of sifting though the mountain of information online to realize that there were several local solutions for her daughter’s problem. Unfortunately, none of the products listed were available in the local stores!

Kenya has a host of menstrual hygiene products, most of which are locally made. There are silicon-based menstrual cups available. The Ruby cup, availed in Kenya, is not only a commercial venture, but is also a charitable venture. For every one cup bought, a needy girl in this country will be given a cup for free. The Grace cup, a locally marketed brand, is also available locally, brought into the market by a passionate Kenyan woman whose main desire is to manufacture it fully locally.

Away from the cups, there are reusable sanitary pads, made of unique natural fabric that are available locally too. The pads are washable and waterproof, to prevent leakages. They are good for people like Suki’s daughter who are unable to tolerate synthetic materials. AFRIpads have gone all out to manufacture reusable pads for sale in Africa.

Even further, are Nola period panties. Designed and manufactured by a Kenyan lady, these unique panties come with an in-built reusable sanitary towel. All a girl needs to do is wear it and go!

So, with all these wonderful products available, why are they not on our supermarket shelves? Why are they not stocked in the local kiosk? These are products that are not only sustainable but also environmentally friendly. You would think that as a country, we would be jumping at putting them on the retail outlet shelves.

A big part of the hindrance has been attaining certification from our Kenya Bureau of Standards, so as to allow the retailing. Three years down the line, most of the local manufacturers are still struggling to get the precious stamp. While we are still struggling with the bureaucratic red tape, our neighbours, Tanzania and Uganda, are miles ahead of us. They have certified the very same products and availed them to the public.

Our focus as a country, is spot on. We must ensure that all girls and women in Kenya can have safe, affordable and dignified menstruation period. 16 million Kenyan women cannot continue to be shamed because of a normal physiologic function. It is abominable.

We must all remember, the female menstrual cycle is a key pillar that ensures continuity of the human race. Women are tasked with the noble role of nurturing our future. Let us join hands in giving it the respect it deserves.