17 February 2023 , 13:40
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A female senator was asked to leave parliament because of an apparent period stain on her trousers, sparking fury.
Kenyan Gloria Orwoba said she was aware of the stain before she entered the building, but as a proud advocate against period shame, she decided she would "go ahead and walk the talk".
She claims staff “begged” her not to enter the chamber and some MPs, including another female senator, criticised her, saying she was being disrespectful.
During Tuesday's plenary session, Tabitha Mutinda, a Kenyan senator, called on the speaker of the house to decide if Ms Orowba had followed the house’s dress code.
She said she found it uncomfortable and inappropriate.
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Enoch Wambua, another Senator, said: “What senator Gloria has done to this house is a disgrace, it is a lot of shame to this house. This must not be allowed to happen.”
Gloria Orwoba said she was aware of the stain before she entered the building (Facebook)Ms Orowba responded by saying she was disappointed to be questioned over "an accident that is natural... I have stained my clothes".
She continued: "I think I'm dressed as per the standing orders - I'm covered, I have a suit, I have collars, I'm just short of a tie."
She was eventually asked to leave by Amason Kingi, the Senate Speaker, who told her to change into unstained clothes.
He said: "Having periods is never a crime. Senator Gloria, I sympathise with you that you are going through the natural act of menstruation, you have stained your wonderful suit, I'm asking you to leave so that you go change and come back with clothes that are not stained."
Ms Orowba then went to a school in Nairobi to give out sanitary pads and is continuing her campaigning for increased government funding to address “period poverty”.
She is behind a motion pushing for an increase in government funding for free sanitary pads and provision of female hygiene products in all public schools.
According to the Borgen Project, 65 percent of Kenyan women and girls are unable to afford basic sanitary pads.
It continues: "Girls often rely on the men in their lives for period products and some girls engage in transactional sex in order to secure sanitary products, perpetuating a patriarchal cycle of reliance and exploitation."
It says 10 percent of 15-year-old girls were having sex to pay for period products.
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