The very day I came across a tampon

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I was 22, standing beside the shelves of a famous supermarket in Kenya, seeming like I am looking for a certain brand of lotion- but in real sense, I was bewilderingly gazing at a pack of tampons like it was a ticking-time bomb.

I had only chanced these items in movies- typically white womenfolk in Chapati blankets- baggy hoodies nonchalantly throwing them into shopping trolleys. But then again there I was, in an African State where sanitary towels are the standard, puzzling if I was audacious enough to try out something unalike. 

I stretched my arm and went for the smallest package that was placed on the topmost shelf containing facial glow items, or can I refer to them as ‘Glow-up kits?’ 

I almost felt comparable to a shoplifter, even although I paid fully at the counter, with the cash handler side eyeing me, then eyeballing the tampons, and then giving me a piercing look. I felt under the microscope, punitively judged. Perhaps I made it-up in my mind, maybe I didn’t. 

I boarded a bus back home, alighted and grimaced to my place of residence- the dysmenorrhea was hell, then headed straight to the rest room, reading the guidelines like I was revising for KJSEA or WAEC. I made attempts, botched, tried for a second time, unsuccessful (my heart raced), then Phew, at last, it did work.

I stood there for a minute, intermittently glaring at my reflection in the mirror. Adhesive wings? Nah. Papery sanitary pad? Nah. Misaligned and noisy pad? Nope. No bulkiness, just yours truly. Cozy. Experiencing elegance. Ultra-dry. Calling the shots.

However that instant was enormous than the very tampon.

It was the first time I was raising eyebrows on what I had been imparted as to my body- the programming pertinent to menstruation, about the embarrassment that comes with it, the hushed tones, with respect to womanhood. 

Photo Credit: Pexels

Do you know why? Here’s the fact- Not only is Menstrual Hygiene Management just on accessibility of products but also it relates to the autonomy to make choices out of varieties, eating nutritive foods, taking on Premenstrual Syndrome with forbearance, and perceiving oneself; as normal, rather than unclean.

This Menstrual Hygiene Day 2025, as I reflect on that tremendous experience, I join fellow change makers, activists and the entire world in the joint action: Together for a Period Friendly World. Every menstruator is worthy of dignity, options as well as unlimited tapping into quality education, wellbeing and opportunities and liberty- whether she utilizes reusable or disposable sanitary pads, menstrual cups, or the tampon. Let’s redraft the Menstrual Hygiene script, no whispers, no shame, no stigma, no taboos, no myths and no misconceptions.