Time to stop menstruation stigma

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe recently launched the Menstrual Hygiene policy 2019-24. Top of the agenda in the policy is to deal with the stigma associated with menstruation.

Principal Secretary Health Susan Mochache said one of the key objectives of the policy is to ensure myths, taboo and stigma around mensuration are addressed by providing women, girls, men and boys access to information on menstruation.

“The policy recognises that the ability to manage mensuration safely and hygienically without stigma or taboos and in dignity is a precondition to meeting human rights for girls and women. It should therefore be the responsibility of the state to employ the best and equitable measures to enable widest possible enjoyment of these rights,” it reads.

A 2018 survey on menstrual hygiene management practices among school girls from a pastoralist community in Kenya showed 37.8 per cent reported facing stigma while 44.7 per cent experienced shamefulness due to menstruation.

SOCIAL SILENCE

It indicated that since menstruation was considered a taboo among the Maasai community, discussions on the matter in public was prohibited. It showed heightened stigma and social silence.

The survey further noted that Muslim and traditional religious groups considered menstruating girls unclean and prohibited their participation in any social forums, including going to school which left girls ostracised and alienated.

Last year, stigma associated with menstruation saw a pupil at Kabiangek Primary School in Konoin Sub County, Bomet County commit suicide after allegedly being humiliated by her teacher. 

Her female classmates said the girl appeared confused after soiling her uniform attracting the attention of the female teacher. Her mother alleged the teacher accused the girl of being “dirty” and kicked her out of class.

The girl’s death prompted protests from female MPs and reignited a national conversation about “period shaming” and access to menstrual products.

RURAL KENYA

More than 200 parents also protested outside the school in Kabiangek where they condemned the teacher’s handling of the incident and alleged lack of action by authorities.

Stigma associated with menstruation is one of the major challenges facing girls in rural Kenya and urban slums.

To demystify menstruation and break the stigma and taboos, the Menstrual Hygiene policy proposes to develop a communication and media strategy, key messages and instruments such as training guidelines and manual needed to provide education on Menstrual Hygiene Management for boys and girls, women and men.

It also proposes increased capacity for teachers, school management and public health officers on MHM.

Mr Kagwe said it is meant to create an enabling environment for implementation of menstrual hygiene and management interventions in Kenya. It will further ensure women and girls have access to safe and hygienic products.

The CS said Kenya is the first nation to develop a standalone Menstrual Hygiene Policy through a multi-stakeholder consultative and inclusive process. 

"We acknowledge the contribution of stakeholders in developing this policy and strategy in advancing the menstrual health and agenda in Kenya," Mr Kagwe said.

Unesco says approximately 50 per cent of school-age girls in Kenya do not have access to sanitary pads, especially those from poor families.

SCHOOL DROPOUT

The 2016 Unesco report estimates that one in 10 girls in Sub-Saharan Africa is absent from school during their menstrual cycle. This prevents them from attending school because they feel ashamed or “unclean”. There are many instances where girls drop out of school once they start their periods. 

In 2017, Kenya passed a law that required the government to give free pads to schoolgirls. More than 3.7 million girls have, so far, received about 14.8 million packets of sanitary towels amounting to Sh420 million.

The program was transferred from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs during the 2017/2018 financial year with a budget of Sh470 million.

Its objective is to increase access of teenage girls to sexual and reproductive health products and boost their retention in school, transition to higher levels of learning resulting to enhanced academic performance.