allAfrica.com: Uganda: The Agony of Being Female (Page 1 of 2)

Ms Carol Nampiina's posting to her new workplace coincided with her monthly menstrual flow that fell in July, and it took her less than two days in her new office to try and confide in someone about her discomfort.

Nampiina was uncomfortable at office for unlike her previous residence where she easily disposed off her sanitary pads, her new office lacked a sanitary bin. During the times she had her flow, she had to wrap her used pad, keep it in her bag until late in the evening when she went back home to dispose it.

She confided in an older colleague who said she found the situation like that when she joined the company, and there were worse circumstances for women. Like the many forms of social omissions to the disadvantage of minorities, indications are that the lack of proper places for disposal of used sanitary pads is one of the overlooked practices prevailing in modern offices in Uganda.

And although some offices have women's exclusive toilets, they are not absolutely secure from male intrusion which threatens their privacy and dignity. But there are also offices which don't have "women's only" toilets at all.

"Even in our offices, there is no separation of toilets for sexes and this can have serious health consequences. Even our female colleagues here complain. My senior health officer is annoyed but we hope it will change," said Dr Mesach Mubiru, director of health services, Kampala City Council.

The Public Health Act, 2000, Chapter 281 states that privacy must be provided for by labeling whenever communities have both sexes working together. Mubiru says the same legal provisions protect workers even at private offices. Mubiru agrees it is a much flaunted provision.

It is a silent, sensitive yet progressive evil that the victims dare not come out loudly about it, just like in the many cases where women have had to quietly bare the brunt of social ostracisation.

The dirty and inconveniencing task of walking around with a used pad in a lady's bag contributes to the psychological barrier that even educated women have to live with just because the greater picture of having the job despite such trauma makes more sense.

"You can even use a bucket which costs about $2.1 (Ush3500) to $2.9 (5,000) only," said Ms. Mankolo Mercy who had to be pressed to talk about this sanitary subject having served in a high level office that lacked sanitary bins.

Mr. Mohammed Kirumiira, chief health inspector, KCC agrees that there is a problem hitting women sanitaion generally. Infact, Kampala, the quickly rising cosmopolitan city that in November 2007 hosted 50 heads of government in the Commonwealth meeting has been facing this discriminatory challenge.

Officials say the problem is most at Constitutional Square, Sure House and Goods Shade on Entebbe road which all have KCC toilets and are situated in and around the Kampala city centre.

At Constitutional Square, which is a central business location, there is a single entry for both sexes because the contractors built only one access door.

There is only one attendant maintaining both toilets, and he being a man, condemns the women's' side to poor service.

"The contractor economizes (to avoid paying more salaries)-he employs only one male attendant and there is no attendant on the ladies side to collect money or wash the toilets. How can a man clean ladies' toilets," asked Kirumiira.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act 2006 states that where persons of both sexes are or are intended to be employed, except in the case of buildings where the workers are all members of the same family, the convenience shall have proper, separate accommodation for persons of each sex, separate approaches for each sex." This is truly contravened in practice by the wider Ugandan society, in both public and private spheres.

KCC has 12 public toilets in and around the city centre and the management at City Hall concedes there is a general lack of concern for the womenfolk, right from the offices at City Hall.

"Like here (KCC offices), it is abused, women here have been complaining that the toilets get chocked because they (women) place pads into the pans and have very little flowing water to wash down the refuse," said Kirumiira.

With Dr. William Muhairwe, the managing director of Uganda's National Water and Sewerage Corporation recently disclosing that Uganda's main urban centres are just 10% sewered, the absurdity of the hygiene risks are glaring.

Humiliation

In office premises where there are no bins, the casual employees who are tasked with collecting and disposing rubbish are subjected to the ghastly nightmare of sometimes touching the bloodstained pads of their senior colleagues.

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