A 14 year old school girl has hanged herself after she was scandalized by school mates who sighted menstruation blood stains on her uniform.
The incident was said to have attracted reactions from a crowd of about 200, protesting in front of the school.
A report from the British Broadcasting Corporation quoting local media said the incident took place in the Kabiangek, west of the capital Nairobi, last Friday.
The 14-year-old’s mother said her daughter hanged herself after being humiliated by a teacher
Kenya government had passed a law in 2017 to provide free sanitary towels for schoolgirls.
However, a parliamentary committee is currently investigating why the programme is yet to be rolled out across all schools.
The girl’s mother said a teacher had called her “dirty” for soiling her uniform and ordered her to leave the class in Kabiangek, west of the capital Nairobi, last Friday.
“She had nothing to use as a pad. When the blood stained her clothes, she was told to leave the classroom and stand outside,” the mother was quoted as saying in Kenyan media.
She said her daughter came home and told her mother what had happened, but then when she went to fetch water she took her own life.
The report quotes the Daily Nation of Kenya as saying that the parents reported the matter to the police, but nothing was done immediately.
This angered them and they mobilized for a protest, and the police moved in and made five arrests.
Report said the demonstrators led to a blockage of road with the aggrieved protesters pulling doen the school gate.
The report further quotes the regional police chief, Alex Shikondi as saying the matter was being investigated.
The school’s head teacher has declined to comment.
“In Kenya, as in other countries, many girls cannot afford sanitary products such as pads and tampons.
A UN report in 2014 said that one in 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa missed school during their period.
Some girls reportedly lose 20% of their education for this reason, making them more likely to drop out of school altogether, the report said.
