Kenyan Senator Dismissed From Parliament For “Period stain”

According to reports, a Kenyan senator was expelled from the legislature after showing up to a meeting wearing a white suit that had been intentionally stained red as part of an alleged menstruation activism effort.

Gloria Orwoba of the ruling coalition is slated to propose a proposal on Wednesday on a law that would provide free sanitary pads in an effort to alleviate period poverty.

The afternoon session of the Senate was apparently suspended on Tuesday in order to draw the Speaker’s attention to Ms. Orwoba’s “inappropriate dress code.”

“I am amazed that someone can stand here and suggest that the House has been shamed because a lady has had her period,” the senator said.

@Senator @gloria_orwoba , If we can have free toilet paper , Condoms Despenser in almost every toilet in the Kenya., we can also have free menstrual pads for all women.#FreeThePeriod
Pads Then Condoms pic.twitter.com/FRYjEkkd7A

— Simon Dedan (@Simon_Dedan) February 14, 2023

In light of this, Speaker Amason Kingi ordered the senator to go change her clothes before she could be readmitted to the chambers.

“Having periods is never a crime… Senator Gloria, I sympathize with you that you are going through the natural act of menstruation, you have stained your wonderful suit, I’m asking you to leave so that you go change and come back with clothes that are not stained,” the BBC quoted speaker in a report

Outside the chambers, Senator Orwoba confirmed the report to journalists saying “unfortunately I have been kicked out because I’m on my period and we are not supposed to show our period when we are on our period and that is the kind of period stigma girls and women are having outside…”

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