NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 18 – Farmer on Fire Limited has launched a new two week long initiative aimed at equipping women in low income agricultural professionals with period panties in a bid to increase profitability.
The firm, through Global Citizen, has partnered with Period.com a company based in the United States that manufactures reusable period panties to donate about 1500 units to girls in Mwakwaboki Primary School,Nduti Tea Factory women workers in Muranga County, as well low income households in Kitengela.
Farmer on Fire Founder and Chief Executive Officer Wangari Kuria says African women lose their days wages when experiencing their monthly periods by surprise.
“When women in the low income bracket experience their monthly periods by surprise, they normally have to go home to take care of it , walking back home miles away. This meant that they lost their day’s wage based on their gender. Women go through period shame all the time and have to ask the men in their lives for money to buy for them pads every month and panties and other inner wear, a highly stigmatized issue,” she explained.
The reusable panties come in handy in the wake of climate change, sanitary towels are tricky to dispose of and end up in landfills in millions, polluting the environment. This offers a more carbon safe alternative since they are rewashable, to a challenge affecting at least 5 billion women globally.
“The panties are of top quality and are able to hold their flow without any leakage,” she added.
According to the latest report by Ballad Brief, Women and girls in East Africa, live in a culture where menstruation and reproductive health are not discussed.
This is because menstruation and anything related to it is considered taboo.
“Both women and girls often do not understand the reproductive cycle of their bodies or know how to manage their menstruation. Girls commonly miss or drop out of school because they do not understand what is happening to them or are unaware of how to hygienically manage their natural cycle,” said the Ballad Brief report.
The issue is perpetuated by menstrual hygiene products being expensive and hard to obtain, as well as a lack of easy access to clean water and latrine privacy.
Girls are negatively affected in many ways, including a compromised education from missing school, infection or disease due to lack of hygiene, and pressure to engage in transactional sex in order to obtain menstrual hygiene products.
“Current best practices that aim to improve menstrual hygiene management include providing girls with menstrual hygiene education through workshops and magazines, and increasing accessibility of menstrual hygiene products through distribution of reusable pads.” the report concludes.
