KDRTV News – Transzoia County: In the heart of Saboti sub county, the onset of menstruation signals more than a rite of passage for adolescent girls as it often means losing days of education. Across low and middle-income countries, over 500 million girls and women lack adequate facilities to manage menstrual hygiene, and Saboti is no exception.
Saboti’s schoolgirls face a trinity of obstacles: the cost of disposable pads, the absence of female-friendly toilets, and the silence that shrouds menstruation in taboo. With a single pack of sanitary pads averaging 50–70 KES close to a day’s wage for many families, girls resort to cloth rags, paper, or worse. These improvised solutions often leak, inviting teasing from peers and even teachers, and an estimated 32% of girls in similar Kenyan communities report staining their uniforms.
Beyond product shortages, many schools in Saboti lack separate, lockable latrines for girls. Without adequate water and soap, changing pads becomes a humiliating ordeal. Local NGOs estimate Saboti’s girls miss up to five school days each cycle, nearly 25% of the month.
Worse still, scarcity of clean pads and private, lockable latrines drives girls away from classrooms. A study in rural Kenya found that one in ten girls misses school during her period, with 70% reporting falling behind in lessons. In Saboti, teachers estimate that up to 40% of girls aged 12–17 miss one to three days of school every month. “They are too ashamed or afraid of stains,” says a Saboti headteacher. “By term’s end, they’ve lost a whole week of learning.”
Poor menstrual management exposes girls to urinary tract and reproductive infections. Local clinics report a 30% increase in adolescent RTIs each year. To afford pads, some girls turn to transactional sex, exchanging school fees or pad money for protection a desperate act that raises risks of HIV and early pregnancy.
Kenya’s 2010 Constitution guarantees the right to the highest attainable standard of health and reproductive services (Articles 43, 53, and 54). National policies from the 2014–2030 Health Policy to the 2019–2030 Menstrual Hygiene Management Strategy, pledge sanitary dignity for women and girls. Yet Saboti’s schools still lack free pads and gender-segregated washrooms with water and disposal bins.
As the Sanitary Towels Bill 2024 awaits enactment, Saboti’s leaders and the national government must swiftly mobilize resources to supply free pads in all public schools. Ensuring uninterrupted education and safeguarding health is not charity but fulfilling human rights and constitutional promises. Saboti’s girls deserve dignity, opportunity, and a future unshackled by monthly silence.
Non-profits like ZanaAfrica Foundation and SHE28 are partnering with schools in Transzoia to distribute low-cost reusable pads, train teachers on menstrual hygiene management, and upgrade girls’ latrines with private washing areas. “Education about periods must go hand in hand with facilities and affordable products,” says Angela Lagat of ZanaAfrica.
Local leaders are also petitioning the Transzoia County Assembly to eliminate the so-called “pink tax” on sanitary products and allocate part of the county education budget for menstrual support. Just 500,000 KES per term could provide pads for every Saboti schoolgirl and reduce absenteeism by 30%.
Bleeding in silence should no longer be an obstacle to girls’ futures. With political good will, community engagement, and strategic investments in menstrual health, Transzoia can ensure its girls bleed and learn without shame.
Saboti needs a multi-pronged approach:
- Subsidies or Zero Tax on Pads: Remove the “pink tax” that classifies pads as luxury items.
- WASH Upgrades: Install private, lockable toilets with water and soap.
- Local Production: Encourage small-scale pad manufacturing to lower costs and create jobs.
- Menstrual Education: Integrate puberty lessons for boys and girls to break taboos.
By learning from regional successes and investing in girls’ menstrual health, Saboti can turn the tide ensuring no girl bleeds in silence and every young woman has the dignity and opportunity she deserves – just like what Phyllis Mukasa is doing for Kibera, Nairobi and countrywide. Phyllis is restoring dignity to girls and women across the country by providing menstrual cups that are reusable, safe and serves for 10 years at only 10 dollars through CouldYouCup. Visit www.couldyoucup.org for more information. Every girl child, woman deserves a dignified living in our community. Let us all come together in solidarity to support them.
