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{
    "id": 1215566,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1215566/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 375,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Orwoba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "That is not the reality we have right now. Yes, there could be one line in our law that states that it should be done, but it is not the reality. We need to find ways to make it a reality. That is the first thing I am proposing. On the issue of menstrual stigma and the misinformation. When I came to the House, I heard fellow Senators tell me it was not possible to have an accident because I should know when to expect my period. There was a lot of misinformation around that. Just because you do not see the accidents that we, women, have when it comes to menstruation, it does not mean that they do not exist. There is a lot of misinformation that guides period-shaming and the policies in this country. The problem that we have had is that those who were drafting the policies and laws do not understand what it means to bleed continuously without dying for seven days and having to manage that. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in my submissions, I want us to consider that period-shaming is a real thing. We had a girl who committed suicide because she stained her dress. A teacher made a comment that devastated her and made her feel so ashamed that she took her own life. You can imagine the ridicule I had when I came to the Floor of the House. Someone stood and said that this was a House of dignity and, at that moment, I was not befitting to be in here because I was on my period. These are the kinds of things that our girls are going through down at the grassroots. The only difference is that they, probably, do not have the platform I have to speak out against certain things. The difference is that, perhaps being a Kisii from Kisii County and having been brought up by a single father, I probably have developed thick skin. However, it should not be the case that our girls are being shamed for going through a natural process. The issue on period-shaming is a matter that should be taken into account when putting together this policy. There should be repercussions to teachers, to people of authority who castigate girls for going through their periods and those who makes funny comments. That is something that we can legislate. If we are able to legislate sexual harassment, sincerely speaking, we can legislate period-shaming. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I know that I am running out of time, but I want to tell my fellow Senators - those who probably do not support this Motion - that it is a fact that all the women Senators here bleed. They have their periods every month, some even more than seven days, some heavier or lighter than I do. They all bleed and it is nothing to be ashamed of and the first thing is to talk about it and accept it. If we, as legislators, are the ones castigating people for having periods then we are never going to deal with the issue of period-shaming and period poverty. They go hand in hand. If I cannot access sanitary towels, I am forced to use other materials. Those materials are, probably, going to cause a leak. The leak is going to cause the shame. The shame is going to cause all sorts of other things, including trading my body for sex work, so that I can buy those sanitary towels."
}