With stained pants, Kenyan senator fights menstruation taboo

Kenyan senator Gloria Orwoba distributes free sanitary pads to girls at Mukuru Community Center Primary school, while explaining to them the need to openly discuss menstruation to end period shaming, in the Mukuru neighborhood on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Orwoba has said that she attended parliament last month while wearing a white pantsuit stained by her menstruation in order to combat the stigma surrounding women's monthly periods. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) Kenyan senator Gloria Orwoba distributes free sanitary pads to girls at Mukuru Community Center Primary school, while explaining to them the need to openly discuss menstruation to end period shaming, in the Mukuru neighborhood on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Orwoba has said that she attended parliament last month while wearing a white pantsuit stained by her menstruation in order to combat the stigma surrounding women's monthly periods. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI / Associated Press March 8, 2023 4 min read

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The sight of a red bloodstain on Kenyan Senator Gloria Orwoba’s white pantsuit was so startling that a female security guard rushed over to hide it.

It was an accident, Orwoba said. Just before walking into parliament, she looked down to discover that she had been caught unprepared by her monthly period.

For a moment, she considered retreat. But then she thought about how the stigma around menstruation affects Kenyan women and girls and strode into the building. To those who noticed the stain, she explained she was making a statement.

It didn’t last long. Within minutes, colleagues in the senate became so uncomfortable that another female lawmaker petitioned the speaker to ask Orwoba to leave and change her clothes. Male colleagues agreed, calling the issue “taboo and private,” and Orwoba walked out.