In honour of International Women’s Day (IWD), today I thought I would talk about something that most if not all women have been victims of.

Good Morning Millenial Readers,

Today let’s talk about period shame.

Story One;

It is a sunny and hot afternoon, and students can be seen running to and from the dining hall. Sitting in class for two hours with nothing in your stomach except for the two slices of bread and tea you had in a hurry during break time is not a joke. After thirty minutes, the bell rings and my friends and I run to class, only to find it in chaos. Peter, the new student, is standing near his desk shouting. I ask around and am told that when Peter went for lunch, Hannah, our classmate, had sat on his chair and had an accident. Upon looking closer, I see Peter’s chair stained in red and assume it’s ink. However, I am wrong, it’s blood. Apparently, Hannah’s period came unexpectedly while she was sitting on Peter’s chair, causing him to throw tantrums to attract attention. The worst part was that the chair was new, so the blood got stuck. Since Hannah was having a heavy flow, the chair was in a mess. I see her walking in with a bucket of soapy water and a brush and proceed to scrub it. My classmates stare as the boys make offensive period jokes, making me uncomfortable. The stain proves to be stubborn and cannot be entirely removed. As a result, Peter is asked to take Hannah’s chair instead. However, he refuses and goes to the store to get another one. “You should have done that earlier instead of causing a scene,” I think to myself. I feel sorry for Hannah, but since it is class time, all I can do is look at her with pity and whisper “It’s going to be okay” to her.

Story Two:

Just a few months later, our class prefect experiences almost the same kind of stigmatization. I am busy doing my work when one of my classmates, leans over and whispers, “tell your friends to learn how to keep themselves ready for their periods to avoid such embarrassments.” I look around and the scene that catches my eye startles me. Our class prefect is walking around the class with a blood-stained dress and no one seems to care apart from the boys at the back giggling. I take a sweater, wrap it around and walk her out of class.

Let’s Talk about Period Shame

Period shame refers to the societal and cultural stigma and embarrassment surrounding menstruation.

Letting a learning institution leave alone society, and let such issues slip without taking any action shows the kind of men we are nurturing. This is also a form of bullying and taking advantage of one`s situation since they are in a vulnerable position.

Many would ask why she was sitting on his chair or if she never kept track of her menses. Hannah was just doing what every student does in class; moving about sitting on anyone`s desk perhaps having a chat with their friends. Also, young girls, or rather young women, start getting their menses at different ages. Hannah was just in primary school and keeping track of her menses was not much of a big deal or maybe it was her first time.

Growing up. I never even knew that there were such things as premenstrual syndrome or period cramps that are indicators of one almost having their menstrual flow. These are things that one learns as one grows up since our curriculum is somehow shallowly rooted when it comes to teaching young people such topics. When we talk about quality education, we are not talking about learners being taught how to use sanitary pads only. Let them also know the struggles that come with having periods. The painful cramps, which are not experienced by every woman/girl, the mood swings, the headaches, among other symptoms and struggles.

While young girls are being taught about such matters, let young boys and men also get instilled with knowledge on how they should take care of their young sisters or girlfriends when they are on their cycle. This might help curb stigmatisation since it mostly comes from the male gender. Calling young women dirty when they are experiencing their flow or trolling them on social media is disrespectful to nature and needs to come to an end.

Kenya should also learn from countries like Spain which has done a very commendable job in offering paid menstrual leave. Such acts by the government help communicate something to society. Not to forget how technological advancement has enabled young women to be able to track their menstrual cycle, by using period calendars on their phones, the manufacturing of medicine used to treat painful period cramps, and hot water period cramps bottles used to lessen cramps around the stomach. These are just a few measures the society is taking to make women`s lives easier during that time of the month.

Being a woman alone is a challenging task, particularly since we live in a patriarchal society, which is not how it should be. Women should not feel at a disadvantage simply for being born female, but rather should feel empowered and proud.

Shirlene ❤❤❤