WANYAMA: Time men got involved in menstrual health

Last Thursday, I attended a breakfast meeting and panel discussion for women journalists featuring seasoned media leaders.

One of the speakers pointed out how she found it ridiculous that a TV show had an all-male panel discussing menstrual health. We all laughed and continued with the discussion.

I was reminded of this two days later by an incident that made me wonder whether, perhaps, it’s about time men got involved in women’s health.

On Saturday, I was at Moi International Sports Complex, Kasarani, for the Changamka Kenya Shopping Festival 2019 — a five-day exhibition of locally made products organised by Kenya Association of Manufacturers.

There were hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors to the stands. The best part of it was that prices were slashed.

At some point, my friend and I needed to use the restroom. It was clean, with running water at the sink and soap in an old water bottle. It was passable.

I was dismayed, however, on entering the stalls: There was no toilet paper. A trend I have noticed in some shopping malls is that there’s often a big roll outside the stalls where you can get the tissue, so I got out and looked around. There was none.

I fished around in my handbag and got some, did my business and got out. As I washed my hands, and waited for my friend, I looked around — at the tiles on the floor, the colour of the walls and so on.

Then I looked up at the wall above the stalls and almost lost my lunch. The wall had a beautiful waffle-like design from the ceiling down to where the stalls begin.

But all this beauty was marred by tens of used sanitary towels stashed into the ventilation holes in the wall above the stalls.

I then realised, in horror, that there was not a single sanitary bin anywhere in the restroom!

When I inquired from the cleaner, I was told there was no toilet with such a disposal bin in the entire sports complex.

Not a single one — in a place that, on some days, hosts thousands of people, a good proportion of whom are women.

I didn’t have to ask to know that the person who manages the complex is a man.

Who else would think that sanitary towel disposal bins are not a basic requirement in a toilet used by women and, to add insult to injury, leave the disgusting spectacle to persist for weeks, even months, on end? I know this because some of the stuff up there was dusty.

I felt bad for the women and girls who had needed this service and had to improvise on realising that it was lacking. It’s not as if you can walk out with a used pad to dispose of it in the litter bins outside — it is not hygienic.

Back to my opening point, it’s about time men also talked about menstrual issues. Long gone are the days when menstruation was a taboo subject for men.

They must take part in the discussions around this topic — if only to ensure no woman or girl is denied crucial services in male-managed places.

All toilets for women must be equipped with sanitary towel disposal bins, toilet paper, soap and water. This is the bare minimum to ensure health and hygiene. Anything less than this is a health hazard.

Ms Wanyama is the Editorial Administration Manager, Nation Media Group. [email protected]