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A senator was forced to leave Kenya's parliament over period stain after colleagues called her 'disgraceful'

Parliament building in Nairobi, Kenya
Parliament building in Nairobi, Kenya

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  • A senator in Kenya was asked to leave parliament because she had a period stain on her white suit. 
  • Gloria Orowba was called "disgraceful" and "shameful" for the accident. 
  • She said, "this is the period stigma that is making our girls kill themselves."

A senator in Kenya was asked to leave the parliament building in Nairobi because she had a period stain on her white suit. 

Gloria Orowba told the BBC she noticed the bloody patch before she entered the building on February 14, but said, "since I am always advocating against period shame, I thought I should go ahead and walk the talk," and went to work as normal. 

Orowba said staff "begged" her not to go into the building before she experienced harsh criticism from her fellow senators. 

Tabitha Mutinda, a fellow female senator, complained to the Speaker and said, "you don't understand if she's on the normal woman cycle or she's faking it, and it is so indecent." 

 

Enoch Wambua, another senator, said: "What Sen. Orwoba has done to this House today is disgraceful and shameful."

Responding to her critics, Orowba said, "Mr. Speaker, Sir, this is the period stigma that is making our girls kill themselves. I now understand why because it is the women who are trying to make this a crime."

 

She continued: "Honestly, the most someone can do is come to me and tell me 'I am sorry, are you having period cramps, or shall I give you pain killers.' Instead, I am being castigated for having my periods." 

However, Orowba was asked by the Speaker to leave.  He said, "Senator Orwoba, I sympathize with you that you are going through the natural act of menstruation, and you have stained your wonderful suit. I am not asking you to leave because you are out of order. I am asking you to leave so that you go change and come back with clothes which are not stained." 

 

Orowba has consistently used her position to tackle period shaming and poverty in Kenya. She has been fighting to get sanitary towels freely accessible across the country. 

According to international NGO Buckner International, 65% of women in Kenya cannot afford sanitary pads, with 42% of Kenyan school girls having never used sanitary pads and having to use blankets, pieces of mattress, tissue paper, and cotton wool as substitutes.

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