From sanitary pads to gender parity
Schoolgirls with sanitary pads distributed by a health agency. The government has proposed to spend Sh6,000 on a pack of sanitary towels, which will be distributed to women and girls affected by El Niño rains. On October 19, 2015, the government dismissed claims that it was planning to misuse taxpayers’ money under the pretext of an El Niño response. FILE PHOTO |
What you need to know:
- Was it not the small things in life, such as lack of panties and pads, that really determined if a girl would spend time in school and concentrate on her studies and compete equally with boys?
The whole of the genital area was red and swollen, and looked indicative of a neglected wound that was older than 24 hours. The girl was screaming in pain. “I did not know that the hot ash could do this. I am dying, please help me,” she wailed.
This happened in my village. I had gone to take a break from the hullabaloo of city life. My neighbours learnt that I was around and as is the norm, came to seek medical advice. The girl was brought in on a homemade stretcher. She had severe pain in her genital area and couldn’t walk. I took her and her mother to a private room and examined her.
“My daughter likes school,” the mother started. “Unfortunately, she has to miss classes each month for up to four days when she has her monthly periods.”
EXTREME MEASURE
She explained that she was a widow with six children to feed. She found it impossible to buy sanitary pads for her daughter every month. It was a struggle buying one meal for the family each day; buying sanitary pads was just out of the question. The only solution was to have the girl stay home every month until the bleeding was over.
“I use soil or cow dung to clean off the blood,” the girl explained. “I find it hard using them in school and so most months I just stay home until the bleeding is over.”
This time round, she had been worried because examinations were coming in a few days and she was afraid she was going to miss them. Her friends advised her to use hot ash to dry off the blood faster. She collected hot ash from the jiko, lay on her back and poured it all over her vaginal area. The area swelled immediately. It had been two days since and it was getting worse.
“I think the mistake I made was to use very hot ash. I will be more careful next time,’ she said remorsefully.
“There are organisations that have been giving pads to school girls, have they not reached your school?” I asked. Her mother looked me straight in the eye, a tear dropping down her cheek. It looked like something had pierced her heart. Perhaps my question was a little too harsh.
“They gave her a pack of pads three months ago but she has no panty and so cannot use them.” Oops! I always assumed that most girls could afford panties but not sanitary pads. So here we were.
There was need to clean the affected area and give a painkiller and give antibiotics. The girl could not walk and it was important to take her in hospital for good care. This was despite the fact that her mother was a poor widow, the hospital was more than 50 kilometres away, and even if she was to reach there, she would be required to pay some money before being treated.
MISSING LINK
I was reminded of the hype around gender parity in Kenya and the affirmative action requiring that at least a third of employees in an organisation be of either gender. I wondered if there was a missing link in all this.
Was it not the small things in life, such as lack of panties and pads, that really determined if a girl would spend time in school and concentrate on her studies and compete equally with boys? Boys were busy preparing for exams and here we were, this girl suffering consequences of the natural processes of being female.
I offered to drive her to hospital. “And will you kindly bring her back?” requested her mother. “I cannot afford her transport back from there.”
The girl spent two weeks in the hospital. Her wound needed frequent cleaning for the infection to clear and for healing to happen. She was also put on intravenous antibiotics and painkillers. As promised, I went back to hospital to pick her up and take her back to the village.
“Thank you for the help sir, I will not repeat the mistake,” she said. “I have missed exams though and they may not allow me to proceed to the next class.”
As I paid her hospital bill, I wondered if this was the beginning rather than the end of this girl’s problems. Because of natural physiological make up and processes, girls require special attention yet communities like those from my village do not seem to realise this. This puts them at a permanent disadvantage in life. I bought her a set of panties and pads and asked the nurse to demonstrate to her how to use them. How I wished that affirmative action would start at primary school level to ensure equal opportunities for both girls and boys.
