Girls in rural Kenya continue to miss classes and others drop out of school due to lack of sanitary pads, as revealed by school heads and other stakeholders during menstrual hygiene day at Ithanga Sub County yesterday.
They said affordability and availability of the towels in rural areas have been a challenge due to high poverty levels, making several girls go through the period without the item, subjecting them to stigma and embarrassment from peers and other members of the society.
Addressing stakeholders at Mwana Wikio Secondary School, principal Hilda Mwangi said out of the 400 girls in the school, most of them miss classes during their menstrual periods due to lack of sanitary pads.
She said they are sometimes forced to send some of them home to sort themselves out, as the few pads in her office were meant for emergencies.
While calling on the government and other stakeholders to intervene and ensure the pads are distributed to rural schools, she said the situation has also affected the academic performance of the girls.
She said since the girls come from poor backgrounds, they go through a difficult period during that time of the month.
“The situation in the local schools is dire, as girls can hardly afford pads. We only have a handful in case of emergencies in our offices, and this has led to dropouts, missing classes, and a drop in the academic performance of girls. We need more support to address the situation, Ms. Mwangi said.
The shortage of pads has caused a public outcry, according to Del Monte Public Relations Officer Jacklyn Muthoni, who said it has prompted the company to embark on a programme to help over 10,000 girls in the surrounding community with the pads.
She added that the programme will be upscaled to benefit more girls from across the country as well as increase awareness forums and interact with the girls so that they may have some knowledge on hygiene and menstrual health.
Celebrated artists Avril Nyambura and Jasper Muthomi, aka MC Jesse, who were the chief guests, appealed to the government to provide free sanitary pads to schools to save the girls from stigma and embarrassment during that time of the month.
Avril said that through legislation, pads can be freely given to schools to help the girls achieve menstrual hygiene.
“If, during our time, the government could provide all primary schools with free milk, why not sanitary pads, which are more essential?” posed Avril.
MC Jesse, on his part, called on the government to consider scrapping all taxes on sanitary pads to make them affordable with a view of empowering women.
During the sensitisation meeting with the students, free sanitary pads and other gifts were distributed.
By Muoki Charles
