Why speaking about sanitary towels is in vogue today

Njoki Ndungu

Yesterday I was reminiscing with friends as we analysed this year’s budgetary proposals. Of particular interest was Sh300 million allocation for purchase of sanitary towels for needy girls in school. This is a progressive initiative following public endorsements from Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.

But it is important to retrace the genesis of the sanitary towels policy to a small advocacy group who, in 1994 attempted to engage senior politicians on the same, and were swatted away like irritating flies.

It was still at the height of former President Moi’s regime where men spoke and women listened, unless you were like Martha Karua or Charity Ngilu who, whether through reverence and admiration or as a way of customary insult were referred to as ‘women who are like men’.

Most certainly women did not speak about their intimate toiletries such as sanitary towels in a public place and certainly not to political male leadership. Of course when we trooped to Finance Minister Musalia Mudavadi’s office he gave us audience; this we expected from a youthful modern and educated leader. He actually discovered why sanitary towels were being taxed at 16 per cent VAT in the luxury item category – the culprits being the 17 experts, all male, who made taxation proposals in the budget office. (Note the same team had zero-rated male condoms – a clear pointer as to why we must always have both genders represented in decision making). He was just as shocked about such insensitive discrimination but drew a line when we asked him to take it up at the next Cabinet meeting.

In my mind I imagine he tried to think how to raise the issue of pads in front of Baba Moi and company (there was no woman Cabinet Minister at the time) and understandably could not comprehend such an intervention. He cleverly referred us to Amos Wako, as the man in charge of drafting such changes in the law. A quick meeting with the ever generous and smiling Attorney General assured us of some action but as days went by (of course none of us really had an understanding then of processes of drafting and passing laws), we threatened to march outside the Attorney-General’s Office.

We had planned to march with empty packets of all manner of sanitary towels on branches, placards demanding that money made from women’s bodies should be reinvested in women’s projects, posters stating the Government was exploiting women’s bodies for its selfish gains and so forth. Never mind that this was in the days that politicians had declared it was indecent to advertise pads on national TV. In any event we never did get authorisation to hold the demonstration. But I do remember meeting the AG personally and repeating our intention. In all the years I have known him, I have never seen his eyes grow so wide and round as in his mind’s picture he saw hundreds of women outside his office demanding his blood over matters of menses – it was a sight to behold, to date he has never forgotten that conversation.

Fast forward to year 2011, and speaking about sanitary towels is in vogue. In fact, if you don’t speak about them as an MP or donate them in the schools in your constituency or approve their purchase in the Budget, it can cost you votes in the next election! Obamaspeak would put it this way, "Yes, indeed... Change has come to Kenya!".

The writer is an Advocate of the High Court.