Nominated Senators Karen Nyamu and Gloria Orwoba were on Tuesday, February 14, forced to leave the Senate chambers over their dressing.
Nyamu was dressed in a kitenge skirt and a black sleeveless blouse that left her arms exposed which, according to the House rules, was deemed an inappropriate dressing.
On the other hand, Senator Orwoba was kicked out for wearing blood-stained white suit pants as a demonstration of the ordeal girls and women go through when experiencing their menstrual cycle.
According to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, they were in violation of the Speaker's Rule number 5, which stated that senators were required not to enter the chamber, lounge, or dining room unless they were properly dressed.
"This means that male Senator will be dressed in a coat, collar, tie, long trousers, socks and shoes or service uniform, religious attire or such other decent dressing as may be approved by the speaker from time to time.
"An equivalent standard shall apply in respect of women senators who may also wear kitenges or such other African attire," the Speaker stated.
Kingi then ordered Nyamu to leave the house and return only after complying with house rules and when properly dressed.
"Senator Nyamu, I am afraid that you don't fit the bill and I’m going to ask you to leave the chambers, go and get properly dressed and come back to the chambers,” Kingi added.
Moreover, speaking to the media after she was kicked out of the session, Orwoba stated that the stain was a result of a natural accident, adding that the ordeal was the kind of stigma girls and women went through because of period stigma.
“The stigma starts from not accepting a very natural thing like having your periods, some girls suffer to the extent that they actually kill themselves," Orwoba stated.
Orwoba tabled a notice of motion on free sanitary towels, seeking to facilitate the provision of feminine hygiene products in all public schools and include a dedication of one lesson every week in the school curriculum that would teach girls lessons on menstrual hygiene.
In addition, the motion tabled by Orwoba would ensure that all schools that did not have bathrooms that facilitated privacy, cleanliness, or proper disposal of hygiene products were properly equipped.
The Senate had resumed its Second Session of the 4th Senate on Tuesday, February 14 after a long recess.
