Nominated Senator Gloria Orwaba has praised Kenya's progress in menstrual health ahead of the global menstrual hygiene day on May 28.
"We've broken some glass ceilings because this is a topic that we would never discuss in public," Orwoba said on Wednesday Citizen TV's DayBreak broadcast.
On February 15, 2023, the senator described her experience walking into parliament buildings with dirty pants.
Senators expressed alarm about Orwoba's stain, forcing Speaker Amason Kingi to order that he leave the chamber.
Did you read this?
"I got my periods on my way to parliament and decided that I'm not going to change my pants or cover it," the Senator recounted.
Orwoba also justified her conduct, claiming that she has been fighting period poverty since 2007 and that the scenario (her periods) compelled her to put into reality what she has been educating young girls about self-esteem while on their periods.
"At that time, you needed to walk the walk," she remarked, denying claims of stage management.
She underlined the importance of menstrual hygiene advocacy and emphasized the equivalency of advocacy and sanitary towel distribution, stating that both are necessary.
"Without that advocacy, without us coming here on TV to highlight the real issues about menstruation being normal, nobody would even think twice about buying sanitary towels for donations," she believes.
She added that some jail women trade pads due to a lack of freedom to express themselves and access them.
Orwoba depicted an image of Kenyan communities where a woman cannot enter the main house on her period days.
"In some cultures, if a woman is on her period, she is not allowed to enter the house until her periods are over," she explained.
