Senator Orwoba Leads Women In Marking World Menstrual Day, Highlights Achievements, Challenges

• Senator Gloria Orwoba shared with TUKO.co.ke about her involvement in leading the campaign against menstrual stigma affecting girls and women in the nation
• Busia woman rep Catherine Omanyo encouraged girls to embrace and enjoy the experience of menstruation, emphasising that they should take pride in it
• The two leaders acknowleged efforts to combat menstrual stigma have been met with challenges

Nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has led women in marking World Menstrual Day which is marked on May 28 every year.

As Kenyan women celebrated this day Orwoba took the opportunity to highlight the progress she has made in combating menstrual stigma.

What achievements has Orwoba made?

While speaking to TUKO.co.ke, Orwoba emphasised that her efforts to eradicate period poverty and stigma have prompted the government to raise the budget for free sanitary products from KSh 260 million to KSh 940 million for the fiscal year 2023/24.

She mentioned drafting the 2023 Sanitary Towel Provision Bill, which urged the government to supply schoolgirls and prisoners with free, adequate, high-quality sanitary towels.

She added that she distributed more than 300,000 packs of sanitary towels to schoolgirls through the Glos Pad Bank initiative.

What challenges has she encountered?

She affirmed that her efforts to combat menstrual stigma have been met with challenges, detailing some of these obstacles.

Initially, she cited improper distribution of sanitary towels and lack of accountability as one of the challenges.

She also mentioned constantly receiving online threats, instances of period shaming, and cyberbullying due to her campaign to end period poverty.

Finally, she mentioned that transporting sanitary towels to girls in rural and remote areas has posed her greatest challenge.

She emphasised that girls in rural regions encounter greater difficulty accessing sanitary products compared to their urban counterparts, with some girls in impoverished remote areas not even familiar with sanitary products.

"Community does not openly discuss periods and menstruation, causing girls to feel too shy to talk about their periods or ask for sanitary products, which prevents them from addressing the challenges related to menstruation," Orwoba said.

How does Gloria Orwoba plan to deal with menstrual challenges?

Orwoba mentioned that the she intends to partners with the ministry of gender to push for implementation of menstrual hygiene policy.

Busia woman representative Catherine Omanyo echoed Orwoba's statement, urging individuals to cease stigmatising girls for menstruating.

She also urged girls to enjoy the menstruating phase while it lasts.

"It's fun to menstruate. Let's not demonise it or make it unthinkable girls. Enjoy as it lasts," she said.

Orwoba sent out of parliament for having blood-stained suit

In 2023, Orwoba was sent away from the chambers for attending the session with a blood-stained suit.

After she was thrown out, the female lawmaker claimed that she was on her menses which was why her white trouser was stained.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.