Kenya: Government funds free sanitary pads for schoolgirls

[Guest guest]

Kenya: Government funds free sanitary pads for schoolgirls

It is the norm in Kenya for girls to miss school when they are menstruating due

to the lack of sanitary pads. But a new gender-responsive approach to budgeting

could change this

If used efficiently, the funding will reduce absenteeism from school.

Photograph: Corinne Dufka/Reuters

For the first time ever, the finance minister has allocated almost $4m from the

current national budget to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls.

This comes after persistent pressure from women parliamentarians, who took the

issue of girls' absenteeism from school due to lack of sanitary pads to

parliament. It was a campaign that left their male counterparts speechless, for

such matters are rarely spoken about in public, let alone in parliament, in

Kenya's conservative society.

In their persistent lobbying, the women parliamentarians brought to the fore a

problem that could have continued to hinder the education of young girls.

Thirteen-year-old Dorothy Akinyi, a standard seven pupil from Kibera, arguably

the largest slum in Africa, stays at home every time she menstruates.

" Without sanitary pads, life at school is difficult. We are subjected to very

embarrassing and humiliating incidences, especially from the boys. Tying a

pullover around your waist to hide the soiled patch behind your uniform in case

the tissue leaks is a dead giveaway. We choose to stay at home, " explains

Akinyi. But the situation is set to change for Akinyi and other girls like her –

if the money allocated for the sanitary wear is spent efficiently.

" This is gender-responsive budgeting at work. Being sensitive to the distinctive

needs of men and women, while allocating and spending public funds, " explains

Jacinta Nyachae, executive director of Kenya Aids Law Project and an advocate of

human rights.

Her comments come just as Rwanda prepares to host a global high-level meeting on

increasing accountability and developing effectiveness through gender-responsive

budgeting in Kigali from 26 to 28 July. The meeting is held in conjunction with

the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and

the European Union.

But girls are not the only ones to have benefited from a gender-sensitive

strategy. In a move that has seen women break sociopolitical economic barriers,

the planning and budgeting for the establishment of the ministry of gender and

children affairs remains the government's strongest show of its commitment to

address gender inequality.

" But gender planning and budgeting is not enough; the rampant corruption across

various government ministries is a clear indication that there's need for

tracking and monitoring how these funds are used, " explains a source from the

G-10 alliance, which is a coalition of organisations fighting for women's

rights.

The source adds: " The Women Enterprise Fund suffered allegations [that] needy

women [could not] access the fund. The same can be said of education bursaries

and money channelled through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), various

audits into the CDF kitty have revealed massive corruption. "

Corruption is an issue that Kenya is struggling to deal with. At the moment, 31

civil society activists have been remanded in a Nairobi cell after being

arrested on 18 July during a drawn-out process to get the minister of education

resign over massive corruption allegations.

Although the issue of transparency and accountability is yet to be mainstreamed

alongside the gender mainstreaming process, various attempts to lift the plight

of women have been partially successful. While the Women Enterprise Fund has

been accused of not reaching all the women who need the money, it has made a

difference to the lives of many.

" The establishment of the Women Enterprise Fund to enable women to access

macrofinance has seen women in the informal sector become economically

empowered, " explains Dr Wilfred Subbo, a university lecturer in gender and

development in Nairobi.

" This is important because poverty is gendered. Men and women experience poverty

in very different ways. Research has shown that there are more women living in

poverty than men because more women are illiterate, thus limiting their chances

of exploiting employment opportunities that can afford them [a] decent living, "

he adds.

He says structures were needed to audit the money as it was being spent, and not

after, in order to immediately deal with any financial inconsistencies.

" How do we know for sure that the $4m currently allocated to the Women

Enterprise Fund will reach the economically marginalised women it is intended

for? " he asks.

The national budget is an opportunity for the government to show its commitment

in raising and spending resources.

" Gender budgeting response doesn't mean that the treasury develops two budgets;

one for women, and the other for men. It means that the government shows an

awareness of the fact that some problems are [particular] to men and others to

women, " Nyachae explains.

She further adds: " Women face serious reproductive health problems that can

incapacitate them. The budget should reflect these challenges as it did by

allocating some funds to deal with these challenges. "

She was referring to the current national budget allocation of about $2m for the

improvement of testing for and treating cervical and breast cancer. It was also

the first time the ministry of finance had made such an allocation.

" Cervical cancer continues to be a leading killer disease even though it is the

most preventable and treatable form of cancer. Statistics from Kenyatta hospital

show that at least 2,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed every year with a

similar number dying from the disease annually, " explains Dr Brigid Monda, a

gynaecologist and lecturer in Nairobi.

Gender-responsive budgeting is a reflection of gender-sensitive planning and

practical solutions towards ensuring that gender inequalities in all facets of

society are addressed.

" Integration of all into the mainstream development process is in itself a

realisation of the objective to achieve sustainable development. It is also a

means to bridge the development gap between men and women. It can also create

transparency and accountability because women have been found to be efficient

and effective implementers of public funds and resources, " Subbo says.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/jul/29/kenya-schoolgirls-sanit\

ary-pads-funding

[Guest guest]

Kenya: Government funds free sanitary pads for schoolgirls

It is the norm in Kenya for girls to miss school when they are menstruating due

to the lack of sanitary pads. But a new gender-responsive approach to budgeting

could change this

If used efficiently, the funding will reduce absenteeism from school.

Photograph: Corinne Dufka/Reuters

For the first time ever, the finance minister has allocated almost $4m from the

current national budget to provide free sanitary pads to schoolgirls.

This comes after persistent pressure from women parliamentarians, who took the

issue of girls' absenteeism from school due to lack of sanitary pads to

parliament. It was a campaign that left their male counterparts speechless, for

such matters are rarely spoken about in public, let alone in parliament, in

Kenya's conservative society.

In their persistent lobbying, the women parliamentarians brought to the fore a

problem that could have continued to hinder the education of young girls.

Thirteen-year-old Dorothy Akinyi, a standard seven pupil from Kibera, arguably

the largest slum in Africa, stays at home every time she menstruates.

" Without sanitary pads, life at school is difficult. We are subjected to very

embarrassing and humiliating incidences, especially from the boys. Tying a

pullover around your waist to hide the soiled patch behind your uniform in case

the tissue leaks is a dead giveaway. We choose to stay at home, " explains

Akinyi. But the situation is set to change for Akinyi and other girls like her –

if the money allocated for the sanitary wear is spent efficiently.

" This is gender-responsive budgeting at work. Being sensitive to the distinctive

needs of men and women, while allocating and spending public funds, " explains

Jacinta Nyachae, executive director of Kenya Aids Law Project and an advocate of

human rights.

Her comments come just as Rwanda prepares to host a global high-level meeting on

increasing accountability and developing effectiveness through gender-responsive

budgeting in Kigali from 26 to 28 July. The meeting is held in conjunction with

the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and

the European Union.

But girls are not the only ones to have benefited from a gender-sensitive

strategy. In a move that has seen women break sociopolitical economic barriers,

the planning and budgeting for the establishment of the ministry of gender and

children affairs remains the government's strongest show of its commitment to

address gender inequality.

" But gender planning and budgeting is not enough; the rampant corruption across

various government ministries is a clear indication that there's need for

tracking and monitoring how these funds are used, " explains a source from the

G-10 alliance, which is a coalition of organisations fighting for women's

rights.

The source adds: " The Women Enterprise Fund suffered allegations [that] needy

women [could not] access the fund. The same can be said of education bursaries

and money channelled through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), various

audits into the CDF kitty have revealed massive corruption. "

Corruption is an issue that Kenya is struggling to deal with. At the moment, 31

civil society activists have been remanded in a Nairobi cell after being

arrested on 18 July during a drawn-out process to get the minister of education

resign over massive corruption allegations.

Although the issue of transparency and accountability is yet to be mainstreamed

alongside the gender mainstreaming process, various attempts to lift the plight

of women have been partially successful. While the Women Enterprise Fund has

been accused of not reaching all the women who need the money, it has made a

difference to the lives of many.

" The establishment of the Women Enterprise Fund to enable women to access

macrofinance has seen women in the informal sector become economically

empowered, " explains Dr Wilfred Subbo, a university lecturer in gender and

development in Nairobi.

" This is important because poverty is gendered. Men and women experience poverty

in very different ways. Research has shown that there are more women living in

poverty than men because more women are illiterate, thus limiting their chances

of exploiting employment opportunities that can afford them [a] decent living, "

he adds.

He says structures were needed to audit the money as it was being spent, and not

after, in order to immediately deal with any financial inconsistencies.

" How do we know for sure that the $4m currently allocated to the Women

Enterprise Fund will reach the economically marginalised women it is intended

for? " he asks.

The national budget is an opportunity for the government to show its commitment

in raising and spending resources.

" Gender budgeting response doesn't mean that the treasury develops two budgets;

one for women, and the other for men. It means that the government shows an

awareness of the fact that some problems are [particular] to men and others to

women, " Nyachae explains.

She further adds: " Women face serious reproductive health problems that can

incapacitate them. The budget should reflect these challenges as it did by

allocating some funds to deal with these challenges. "

She was referring to the current national budget allocation of about $2m for the

improvement of testing for and treating cervical and breast cancer. It was also

the first time the ministry of finance had made such an allocation.

" Cervical cancer continues to be a leading killer disease even though it is the

most preventable and treatable form of cancer. Statistics from Kenyatta hospital

show that at least 2,000 new cancer cases are diagnosed every year with a

similar number dying from the disease annually, " explains Dr Brigid Monda, a

gynaecologist and lecturer in Nairobi.

Gender-responsive budgeting is a reflection of gender-sensitive planning and

practical solutions towards ensuring that gender inequalities in all facets of

society are addressed.

" Integration of all into the mainstream development process is in itself a

realisation of the objective to achieve sustainable development. It is also a

means to bridge the development gap between men and women. It can also create

transparency and accountability because women have been found to be efficient

and effective implementers of public funds and resources, " Subbo says.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2011/jul/29/kenya-schoolgirls-sanit\

ary-pads-funding