Kenya Gloria Owaba's Bold Move
Suicide Incident Triggered by Calling Menstruating Girl 'Dirty'
"Menstruation Is Not Shameful... Free Sanitary Pads"
On the 14th of last month (local time), the area in front of the parliament in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, was greatly stirred by the appearance of female senator Gloria Owoba (37). She was wearing a white suit, but her pants and buttocks were stained with red marks. Although bewildered glances were directed at her lower garments, she was not at all embarrassed and said the following.
"I know something is on my pants too. But it’s a natural thing, so I didn’t change my pants and just came as is."
Senator Owoba is a politician struggling to prepare legislation to guarantee 'menstrual rights.'
Menstrual rights refer to the right of all women to menstruate safely and healthily. It also includes the concept of breaking down social perceptions that stigmatize or discriminate against menstruation, or treat it as a sin or taboo.
Fellow lawmakers’ discomfort... "Should be managed personally"
Senator Gloria Owoba of Kenya arrived at the parliament on the 14th of last month wearing a white pantsuit stained with red marks. Photo by Gloria Owoba, captured from Twitter.
On the 8th, the Associated Press introduced Senator Owoba’s activities in honor of 'International Women’s Day.' On that day, Senator Owoba was ultimately denied entry to the parliament and could not enter the interior of the assembly hall.
The parliament cited 'violation of dress code' as the reason for denying her entry, but the AP suggested that "this result likely reflects Africa’s unique aversion to what appears to be menstrual blood stains."
A male lawmaker could not hide his discomfort with Senator Owoba’s actions that day. He said, "My wife and daughter also menstruate. But they manage it personally without exposing it to others."
A female lawmaker also said, "I don’t know if Senator Owoba actually menstruated that day and accidentally stained her pants, or if she deliberately faked it with some other dye," adding, "It’s an excessively obscene act." Malicious slanderous posts against Senator Owoba also poured in online.
"Dirty" to a girl’s first menstruation... A suicide caused by shame
Senator Gloria Owoba of Kenya visited a school in Nairobi on the 14th of last month wearing a white pantsuit stained with red marks and distributed free sanitary pads. Photo by Gloria Owoba, captured from Twitter.
The reason she took such a bold step was a 2019 suicide case of a 14-year-old girl in Kenya. At that time, the girl experienced her first menstruation at school, and a teacher who saw the blood on her uniform scolded her as "dirty" and expelled her from the classroom. Feeling extreme shame, the girl took her own life. Her mother tearfully said, "She didn’t prepare sanitary pads because it was her first menstruation."
Senator Owoba has been running to break the fixed African stereotype that stigmatizes menstruation, emphasizing that "bleeding menstrual blood and showing it to others is never a crime."
Although women’s menstruation is treated as a sin and menstrual blood is taught to be shameful, half of Kenyan women cannot even afford disposable sanitary pads. According to 2020 statistics from the Kenyan Ministry of Health, only 65% of women in urban areas and 46% in rural areas use disposable sanitary pads. Especially this year, inflation has doubled the price of sanitary pads, further reducing buyers.
As a result, one out of ten African schoolgirls misses school during their menstruation period. It is difficult to obtain sanitary pads, and if blood stains appear on outer clothes, they face criticism, so they do not even show up at school. Frequent absences lead to many girls dropping out of school.
Owoba: "Sanitary pads should be provided free to schoolgirls"
Kenyan Senator Gloria Owoba, who leads the menstrual rights campaign, is wearing a T-shirt featuring a uterus shape and the phrase "I can bleed." Photo by Gloria Owoba's Twitter capture
On that day, Senator Owoba left the parliament without changing clothes and went directly to a school to attend a free sanitary pad distribution event.
She said, "Women tried to help by covering my pants, but even this goodwill was not welcomed," adding, "We were taught never to show menstrual blood to others, but that is wrong."
The Kenyan government has also taken steps to find solutions. In 2004, it was the first in the world to reduce taxes on imports of sanitary products such as pads, and in 2017, it invested millions of dollars to distribute free sanitary pads to low-income groups. However, the budget has gradually decreased since then, and in some areas, corruption such as pilfering of sanitary pads occurred, so only a very small number of girls benefited.
Therefore, Senator Owoba is preparing a bill to increase government funding so that sanitary pads can be provided free of charge to schoolgirls throughout Kenya. She emphasized, "There is a lot I have to do as someone on the front lines of menstrual rights," adding, "I warned my teenage son not to shame girls who menstruate. Women must be bold and shameless."
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