The plight of menstruating women in prison is one of the thematic concerns of former Citizen Television journalist Janet Mbugua's debut book 'The First Time."
In a bid to inspire policy change, the former high flying journalist features in the book a woman, a former inmate, who embodies the plight of menstruating women in prison.
The featured woman shared with Janet Mbugua a heart-breaking story of how inmates have no choice but to share pads, a state of affairs that she described as horrific.
"One of the people profiled is former inmate. She talks about menstruation in prison and it is horrific; they do not have access to pads.
"You are lucky if you are given one. Sometimes people have to share a pad. You share a pad. Think about that. Think about having to share a used pad," Janet Mbugua said. (18:33-18:52)
In the book, the former news presenter reveals that she had issues with menstruation which she started earlier than her peers.
Janet is involved in projects aimed at shining a spotlight on the struggles that girls menstruating are grappling with.
The projects have an endgame in mind which is to jolt policymakers to come up with policies that ease the plight of the girls.
She visits schools in informal settlements to donate pads to girls who come from poor backgrounds.