Today, 11th October marks the International Day of the Girl - a worldwide celebration of the girl child and an opportunity to call attention to the many social, cultural, and economic factors keeping girls from reaching their full potential. As co-founders of a women's health startup here in Kenya, this awareness day is particularly important to us; its aims are our aims: to bring about a more equal, prosperous future for the underserved female majority. One place to start is menstrual health - a topic that men like us often shy away from.
In Kenya, the World Bank estimates that 95% of adolescent girls miss between one and three days of school every month due to their period. Suppose you apply that rate to the country's nearly six million adolescent girls who are in school for nine months a year. In that case, that's roughly 100 million days of school missed every year - nearly a billion hours of missed learning - simply because of menstruation. We don't need to look far beyond these statistics to understand why Kenyan girls are still less likely complete their education or secure a well-paying job than their male counterparts.
To disrupt this narrative and usher us closer to a gender-equal world, it is incumbent upon men - especially those in traditional positions of authority - to create space for girls to practice safe menstrual health and hygiene. In other words, it's time to put the "men" back in menstruation.
Contrary to common perception, periods are natural biological functions that are a sign of a healthy female body undergoing its normal monthly cycle. While girls and women can experience their cycles differently - with symptoms ranging from mild to severe - it's important to remember that menstruation needs to be managed like any other bodily process: hygienically, privately, comfortably, and safely. That's where men can come in.
Even if girls are more likely to talk to mothers, sisters, aunts, and other women about their period, men can play countless other roles critical to girls' health and wellbeing. Fathers and brothers can always offer to get menstrual health supplies, whether it requires running to the kitchen for a hot water bottle or going to the store to pick up sanitary pads. School administrators, policymakers, and teachers can create educational environments more conducive to girls' hygiene, so they don't have to risk missing school or falling behind every month. Male community leaders - from pastors and imams to chiefs and coaches - can provide platforms or resources that help menstruating girls participate in religion, sports, and other social activities as freely and fairly as boys do.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
We are also proud to be part of a new menstrual health initiative that's being launched today, called Pamp'her. Designed specifically for modern-day Kenyan girls and women, Pamp'her is a portfolio of innovative "period packs" complete with everything a girl might need to manage her period symptoms and stay engaged in her day-to-day activities. Pamp'her solutions are also paired with wellness and educational resources to help girls stay in touch with their bodies as they undergo changes.
In honor of International Day of the Girl, we are partnering with Ms. Understood to host a series of Friday live streams about different aspects of menstrual health and hygiene, where we will be introducing expert guests, announcing special Pamp'her giveaways, and curating conversations that about periods that go beyond "free pads" and euphemisms. It's also an opportunity for men like us to learn more about the girls and women in our lives and understand how we can better support their menstrual health.
For too long, men have steered clear of topics like menstrual health, which are considered too "female" or "icky" to be their business, preventing them from being the support systems and role models that can be invaluable to girls on their path to equality and success. If there was ever a day to break one unhealthy cycle by celebrating a healthy one, what better than International Day of the Girl?
