Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua's wife Lilian Nganga has questioned why school going girls have no access to free sanitary towels.
This is after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law the Basic Education Amendment Act in June 2017. According to the law, the government is required to provide free sanitary towels to girls in a bid to curb cases of absenteeism.
In a Twitter post on Monday, Nganga lamented that some girls are suffering due to lack of the commodity and questioned where the allocated budget went to.
She noted that the issue can't be ignored because not all girls can afford to buy sanitary pads.
"In 2017, the president passed a law that all school going girls should have free access to sanitary towels. To date, the same has not been implemented," she said.
"What happened to the allocated budget? Our girls need free sanitary towels. It is a basic need that cannot be ignored," she added.
Since the inception of devolution, county first ladies and woman representatives have been seen supplying sanitary towels in schools, in efforts to ensure girls don't skip class during their menstrual cycle.
According to the UN's education agency, one out of 10 girls in sub-Saharan Africa misses school during their periods. The girls reportedly lose 20 per cent of their education due to this reason, making them more likely to drop out of school.