There is something beautiful about youth who care about youth. It is like watching an older sibling guiding the fumbling steps of the younger ones. It is different and profound. As of 2019, about 50% of women and girls who face challenges in getting sanitary pads could not talk about their month at home. If you ask around Kibera, some will tell you that hiyo inakuanga shida yako — it’s your problem to deal with.
Why is it so difficult to talk about it?
1. It is how schools teach them to handle it.
In many Kenyan primary schools, the norm has been the same from time immemorial — there is boy stuff and girl stuff. So keep it to yourself or around your respective gender. So there are times during the week when both genders are pulled aside from the other and given “the talk” that ensures that you deal with your sexual and reproductive health matters in solitude.
2. Society prefers it that way.
Just like the schools, most communities and societies in Kenya and Africa generally prefer keeping the walls up when it comes to talks bout sexual and reproductive health. It stems from the various African traditional cultures as well.
3. Traditional parenting.
Because most of the families existing in the 21st century are made up of a set of parents who grew up in the notion that these conversations are something to shy away from because they bare some “shame” — especially for the middle class and poor social classes, then most of the youth are brought up in the same light.
The story of Gurpreet Dhaliwal’s theory of problem-solving, an emergency medical physician implies that decisions lead to solutions and decisions are arrived at by making conversation. That is why talking to yourself — though awkward, is a very key step in the daily decision-making process. So the fact that the menstrual hygiene issue is hush-hush in the community means that there is no progress.
But we know it now and we are at the forefront of steering conversations around menstrual hygiene. Not with the female gender alone but with both. And we talk about it in every way and form that we can devise. From social campaigns, and talks with our Us4Her girls, to podcasts and videos.
The people get used to having the conversation, and then we will be able to put ourselves in each other’s shoes and become partners instead of ignorantly hurting one another — period shaming. Most importantly, when people talk about it, more ideas and solutions are born which are great contributors to achieving our vision
“In order to solve anything, you first have to be able to describe it and you have to TALK ABOUT IT.
Those who participate more understand more and therefore effectively find solutions. Findings on the research on exploratory talk — Basically means discussion and participation, done in the Cape Province of South Africa showed that; grade seven pupils who were more active in class participation improved in school performance.
That is why we are going to keep talking about it. We believe the solutions lie with all of us. Only by sharing can we be able to capitalise on the creativity and strengths that will pave the way for transformation in society.
Every pad drive involves a talking session between the Us4Her girls and the people who tag along.
We believe that by creating spaces that allow us to bridge the gap. For both genders. This is one way to cultivate an understanding that radiates from the Us4Her community into households, villages, schools and eventually the whole country.
So if you want to be part of the solution, keep talking about it. Join us on Us4Her
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