PM issues order on sanitary towels

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Prime Minister Raila Odinga (right) and Water minister Charity Ngilu (left) after attending the Prime Minister's round-table on Gender at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre May 24, 2011. Mr Odinga ordered two Ministries to start providing sanitary towels to Kenyan students from July.TOM MARUKO

By LUCAS BARASA, lbarassa@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Tuesday, May 24 2011 at 14:15

Two Ministries have been ordered to start providing sanitary towels to Kenyan students from July.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the Ministry of Education should liaise with that of Public Health to provide the towels in all public schools from the next financial year.

The PM further instructed the Ministry of Finance to include the costs of the pads in the next Budget.

“From next financial year, sanitary towels will have to be provided in all schools,” Mr Odinga said.

Mr Odinga said it is disturbing for girls to stay out of school for a number of days due to lack of sanitary towels.

He said the government had promised to introduce the issuance of towels when it came to power in 2003 but the Ministry of Public Health only said it was working with Ministry of Education to do so.

The PM said 48 percent of primary school pupils were girls despite 52 percent of Kenya's population being women.

“The government recognises that the most effective tool for overcoming the challenges facing the girl-child is education,” Mr Odinga told a Prime Minister’s roundtable meeting on gender affairs at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi.

He said significant progress has been made towards gender equality and empowerment of women but a lot still needs to be done to improve the welfare of all Kenyans.

He said measures have been stepped up to stamp out cases of violence against women, particularly sexual violence.

Sexual Offences Act of 2006 provides punitive penalties for sexual offenders while desks have been established in police stations to handle cases of gender violence. A Family Division of the High Court has also been formed to provide greater protection of women in matters of adoption, custody, divorce and inheritance.

He said the government is committed to appointing more women into decision-making offices.

“Today, there are many more women holding decision-making positions as permanent secretaries, ambassadors, directors and parastatal heads,” the PM said.

He regretted that security agencies were still being viewed as insensitive to women, women were still the hardest hit by HIV and Aids and that they were still less represented in leadership.

“Female Genital Mutilation still exists alongside forced marriages and sex trade involving young girls,” Mr Odinga said.

Saying the constitution compels the State to take action to redress past patterns of discrimination and alienation, Mr Odinga said it was imperative that it be translated into action.

The PM at the same time asked women in positions of responsibility to make conscious efforts at being role models saying in the quest to empower women and enable them benefit from provisions of constitution, mentors and role models must be created.

He said deliberate efforts must be made to open more doors to more capable women adding they must be helped to navigate their way around the old boys’ network that has held a tight grip on national affairs.

He added that nations that have rapidly forged ahead in recent decades are those that have recognised that as leaders, women possess a unique set of experiences and perspectives and that they bring a different approach to problem solving.

Gender assistant minister Manyala Keya said women constitute 37 percent of public servants but some ministries are yet to attain 30 percent minimum requirement.

He said 20,000 women have since benefited from Women Enterprise Fund.