Boost menstrual hygiene
Sanitary towels. It is estimated that 65 percent of women and girls in Kenya cannot afford sanitary pads.
It is time we talked about menstrual hygiene and how we can set up strategies to manage it, especially amid the high cost of living.
It has become difficult for many women and girls to choose between buying food or sanitary products.
But worse, menstruation cannot be avoided; it is a natural occurrence in the body of women and girls every month. It’s a cycle.
But nobody is talking about how the prices of menstrual health products have gone up yet they aren’t luxury items but a necessity.
About 10 per cent of girls in Sub-Saharan Africa miss school because they cannot afford menstruation products when they are in their periods.
They are, therefore, forced to engage in transactional sex to get money to buy the sanitary towels.
In 2017, then-President Uhuru Kenyatta signed an amendment to the education law to require that free and quality sanitary towels be provided to every school girl .But still, many don’t get them.
Girls, especially from vulnerable communities and families, suffer stigma and embarrassment during menstruation, which definitely affects their mental health and limits opportunities in their lives.
The cost of sanitary towels is beyond the reach of most women and girls. Many of them struggle to be comfortable during that time of the month.
Menstruation isn’t taboo or bad luck but should be celebrated for them to lead healthy and productive lives.
Menstrual health and hygiene interventions have been highlighted as key strategies to keep girls in school.
If the government can give out flavoured condoms for free in a bid to counter HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, then it can do so for sanitary pads. Sex is a choice but menstruation isn’t .
- Ms Afandi is a journalism and communication student at Rongo University. [email protected].
