Menstruation is one of the signs that shows that a girl is turning into a woman. Menstruation is generally the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina and it occurs monthly. It is a major stage of puberty in girls and should be embraced by both men and women. When menstruation occurs, girls and women need to be able to have access to sanitary wear such as pads, tampons and cotton wool, so as to ensure they can be able to carry out their daily activities without the fear of soiling their clothes.
It is quite unfortunate that in Kenya, and in the 21st century, there are girls who cannot be able to gain access to sanitary towels. This is mainly experienced in the rural and semi urban areas. And this has made these girls to look for other affordable alternatives that will work in place of the sanitary wear. To our major surprise, the girls have resorted to use cow dung, yes you heard it right, cow dung. Are you wondering with me how they actually use it? So I sought to find out how. According to the girls in the rural areas of Kenya, and in this case West Pokot, they said that they take the dung and make it into a flat shape and hang it out on the sun to dry. They make several pieces of them so that they can be able to use them for about three months. When they are on their period, they take the dried cow dung and place it on their inner wear and put some pieces of cloth on top of the dried dung. They said that the dung acts as a sponge and absorbs the blood when it passes through the cloth.
The girls and women in the rural areas say that they use cow dung because they cannot afford to buy proper sanitary wear. For a woman to keep clean and prevent any leakages, they may need more than one sanitary towel and those with a heavy flow may need up to 4 of them. This can be costly and can lead to the spending of more than ksh 200 per month and this is relatively expensive to people who are living in rural areas. I believe that the government and non-governmental organizations should try and subsidize the prices of sanitary towels and make it more affordable to everyone. In my opinion, when in a country like Kenya where some girls are still using cow dung, it shows that some leaders are not working to their full potential. In Every county in Kenya there are women representatives who’re in office to ensure that the women and youth are fully taken care of. They should liase with the ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender to ensure that girls get access to sanitary wear.
In different parts of rural Kenya, girls and women especially school going girls choose to remain home every month while on their period. This causes girls to miss out on a lot, some even remain at home for almost a weak depending on how different the menses vary. A girl in West Pokot county said she stays home during her period due to an experience she would love to forget. She said, “I cannot forget the humiliation i experienced when my fellow pupils saw blood on my uniform, and it being a mixed school the boys made fun of me.” This experience shows exactly what happens to girls if they happen to soil their clothes while out in public. Parents and the society at large should try their hardest to ensure that the men understand that it is a biological process that should not be looked down upon.
This is a challenge we have at hand. While some of us have the luxury of affording sanitary pads that can cost as much as KES 200 a packet, would you be able for once to spare a moment and think about that young girl in the community you grew up in who has to miss school just because she cannot afford sanitary pads that can cost less than a dollar. What will you do?
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