Women working at factory forced to undress to 'show if they have their period'
Women in Kenya were forced to undress at work to check if they had their period after a used sanitary towel was found in the wrong bin.
Three employees at a cheese factory have been arrested for indecent assault charges after the incident, police in Limuru told local media.
A female manager at Brown's Food Company gathered workers to find out which one of them had thrown a used sanitary towel in the wrong bin and made them strip after no one confessed.
Brown's says it has suspended the accused manager pending an investigation.
Police also claimed incidents similar to this one had previously taken place within companies in the Limuru area.
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Sanitary towels for women's period, similar to the one found in the bin (Getty Images)"As a result of the shocking incident at the company, we have begun internal investigations to assess exactly what happened, why and how we can adequately reconcile with the employees who were affected by this distressing unilateral decision of the manager that was on site on the day of the incident. They were immediately suspended", a statement from Brown's Food Company said.
In a video posted to Facebook, Senator Gloria Orwoba said she had received a "distress call" about what happened on Monday night.
The statement continued: "We are directly engaging with Senator Gloria Orwoba - who is known to champion Menstrual Hygiene Management as well as ending period shaming and period poverty in Kenya - to learn from her how best to implement a Menstrual Hygiene Management policy. We have been listening and we know we must do better."
"We have reliably gathered that the demeaning and shaming vice has been going on for a long time. I want to warn any such employers that justice will soon be served to all their victims", local police chief Philip Mwania said.
Period shaming is an increasingly tense topic in Kenya and in February, Senator Orwoba was asked to leave parliament because of an apparent period stain on her trousers.
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.
Ms Orowba responded by saying she was disappointed to be questioned about "an accident that is natural... I have stained my clothes".
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."
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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."
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