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{
"id": 1555572,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555572/?format=api",
"text_counter": 432,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "recognized as an advocate for women’s access to tampons. This is indeed a very serious issue that we are addressing. What has been the response in the corners of our country? The first response is that we have had charitable organisations trying to fill the gaps. We have also, time without number, witnessed community-based programmes making efforts to fill in the gaps. We have also had situations where people are capable to afford what they can in their private capacities if they have money."
},
{
"id": 1555573,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555573/?format=api",
"text_counter": 433,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, the title of the Bill talks of provision. Let me not misquote the Bill because I want to read it as is. It is The Provision of Sanitary Towels Bill. The Bill assumes there is no avenue where the Government of Kenya is providing sanitary towels to women."
},
{
"id": 1555574,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555574/?format=api",
"text_counter": 434,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "The fourth issue is on the menace of acquisition or access to sanitary towels. That should be Government initiatives. When we make Bills in this House, especially on issues that affect women, I want to encourage all female Senators in this House and Parliament in general. Once you have got an opportunity to enter a door, build on it. The truth is that we have a Government Act in place to provide sanitary towels to our female counterparts. I would like to refer to that Act. It is the Basic Education Act of 2017. Section 2(k) of it requires the Ministry of Education to provide free, sufficient and quality sanitary towels to our girls in school. This has been followed with budgetary allocations. There is a standard requirement to respond to this problem. It will be a mischaracterization of our country if we talk about lack of because the provision does exist. External people such as donors might think that the Government of Kenya has never done something like this when that Bill was passed in 2017. It requires that annually, women or girls in school must get nine packs. Section 2(k) is very specific. It states that all girls in our schools must get nine packs of pads per year. That translates to one pack per month. I would like to advise my sister, Sen. Gloria, to look at how we can improve on this, so that we have more. Currently, our girls get about seven pads."
},
{
"id": 1555575,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555575/?format=api",
"text_counter": 435,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "On a point of order, Madam Temporary Speaker. The Senator for Migori whom I highly respect is good in doing research and I like listening to what he says. However, he has brought up a fundamental issue on the Floor of the House. The law exists, but we have a Bill that was approved by this House, underwent First Reading and now we have started the debate which is Second Reading. Madam Temporary Speaker, I would like to have a proper clarification and an informed ruling. We should know whether we are on the correct trajectory to debate a Bill where an Act of Parliament already exists."
},
{
"id": 1555576,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555576/?format=api",
"text_counter": 436,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mumma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " What is your point of order?"
},
{
"id": 1555577,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555577/?format=api",
"text_counter": 437,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Are we in order to debate---"
},
{
"id": 1555578,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555578/?format=api",
"text_counter": 438,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mumma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " A point of order should be such that the person who was speaking said something. You seem to be agreeing with them. So, what is your point of order?"
},
{
"id": 1555579,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555579/?format=api",
"text_counter": 439,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana, MGH",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Are we in order as a House to debate, not an amendment, but a law that provides what already exists? The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1555580,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555580/?format=api",
"text_counter": 440,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Mumma",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Hon. Senators, the Bill before as is framed in a language that is not there. It is up to this House to debate this Bill and determine in one way or the other if the Bill is necessary or not. You will get to do that when you vote. Let us proceed."
},
{
"id": 1555581,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1555581/?format=api",
"text_counter": 441,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Oketch Gicheru",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, we are all aligned to what Sen. Mungatana is saying. What he is asking is fundamental. I will go ahead and demonstrate to you how the Government of Kenya has addressed this issue. The only new part I can see in this Bill talks about correctional institutions and the committees to distribute, which I think is a policy issue. That Bill went through the Houses of Parliament in terms of budgetary allocation. I want to give you an example. In the Financial Year 2021/2022, the Ministry of Education had a budget for 1.7 million girls who had been enrolled in our schools. Therefore, they tried to capture girls in our education system who were at the puberty stage. That was between Class Six, Seven and Eight. They demonstrated that they needed about Kshs621 million to provide the nine packs as required by the existing Act. Due to budgetary constraints, they were allocated Kshs259 million only. That means that in the subsequent years, which I do not want to go into those numbers, there has been incremental capitation by the Ministry of Education for provision of sanitary pads. If you look at the Kenya Environmental, Sanitation and Hygiene Policy (KESHP) 2016-2030, it was adjusted to look at this issue holistically. In this Act of 2017, the policy required that all schools must have private collection and disposal systems for used menstrual clothes and sanitary towels. There are fundamentals of this Bill that we are dealing with. The first one is the issue of provision, which does exist. Is there enough capitation for it? I wish my sister, Sen. Gloria, instead rethought this entire Bill into a policy framework that will make sure there is enough capitation for what exists in that particular Bill like the KESHP 2016- 2030 that looks at how to deal with the issue of hygiene infrastructure in the country, should be financed. My worry is that if we end up over-legislating, we will disadvantage the women. For you to pass this Bill, you should start another journey of looking for its budget when the other budget is suffering from not getting enough capitation. That way, you will disadvantage the women in getting enough resources because of what already exists. It is a fundamental question that I wanted to raise. For instance, if you think about what that policy requires in terms of private system of having women to collect and dispose of sanitary towels. If you look at what happened in the backdrop of the Act that exists, in January, 2023, public health officers closed a number of schools. An example is Ogada Primary School in South Kabuoch in Ndhiwa Constituency in Homa Bay County, where my brother Sen. Kajwang’ comes from. The reason the school was closed is because they did not comply with the policy that exists to make sure that there are proper toilets or pit latrines to dispose sanitary towels. The policy required capitation, so that all schools have separate latrines for girls, such that even when they go to change their pads, they have got private toilets. You can imagine we already have a law and a system that can develop The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}
]
}