Woman rep aspirants called out for snubbing Menstrual Hygiene Day

Woman representative aspirants in Tana River County have been called out for failing to support an event marking World Menstrual Hygiene Day in Galole.

The day is marked on May 28 to create awareness and spur action around menstruation

Of the nine aspirants invited, only one attended the function.

Speaking to Nation.Africa, parents and gender activists in the county expressed their disappointment with the aspirants who gave the event a wide berth.

“Out of 300 girls, only 25 got sanitary towels. The rest were heartbroken because they came with high expectations,” said Milcah Hadida.

She said the aspirants had failed girls on such an important day and needed to make a public apology.

Their no-show, she said, illustrated how uninformed they are about days of the calendar that are important for girls.

“Any woman who seeks to represent us cannot disregard a day in our life. They must have the calendar at their fingertips, they must be in touch with these events,” she said.

The state of menstrual health among girls in the pastoralist community, said parent Fatuma Jibril, is known to the world and it was insensitive for local aspirants to miss out on events marking World Menstrual Hygiene Day.

“They have nothing to promise us if they cannot channel a few of their resources to such an event, but they gladly spend it on handouts where it is not necessary,” she said.

Reached for comment, some of the aspirants said they were not aware of the event, while others said they were not invited.

“I was not aware that such an event was being marked. By the time I heard about it, I was engaged in other duties,” said Melissa Hadida.

Ralia Hassan, on the other hand, noted that she had not been invited, while Namwezi Zita said she got to know about the event too late.

Amina Dika, Kheira Siyat and Alfelt Abio explained that they were engaged in other pressing issues.

Only Sadiya Hussein sent a representative with sanitary towels as she was busy with other duties.

More than 20 girls in Tana River County drop out of school every year as a result of period stigma, according to a report by Groots Kenya.

This is a result of an insufficient supply of sanitary towels in schools and the inability of most parents to afford them.