“Hey your stomach is bloated, are you pregnant”, ask an insensitive male colleague who probably have no clue how it feels not to be understood just for a few days of the month. The boss doesn’t want to understand that you just don’t want to sit down on a seat at his office but would rather instead stand while he is talking to you; which he finds rude. You then find yourself in the awkward situation of explaining to him that it’s just that it’s that time of the month and your stomach is a little upset. I was discussing this issue with a male colleague whose opinion was that if we, women, are asking for equality and occupying same jobs with men, then why should we demand for a break just because of some hormonal imbalance? He believed that if this was such an issue (which undermined our work) then women should get a salary deduction since these are days that we are not as productive as men. I am sure when women fought for equality; it has never been about physical equality since, biologically, it is not possible. Actually we don’t want to be men or worse to be like men- otherwise we would all be lining up for sex changes. What we’ve always wanted was just equal opportunities, equal rights, and equal pay. Hey, all I am talking about is being given a break once in awhile. As a man look at this way, imagine if, for just one single day of your month you would have no control of your urine and therefore had to wear adult diapers. That situation would put you in a sour mood wouldn’t it? And that is just urine. Now imagine that the mood swings, stomach cramps, bloating and, in some worst case scenarios, nausea. So why is it too hard to understand when a woman tells you that she just doesn’t feel like talking? Why can’t a man take it, if for only the three days, his lady thinks that he stinks? Its just hormonal imbalance; sometimes even our sense of smell is affected. Worst still, I have noticed that the majority of offices in this country don’t make it any easier for us in as far as sanitation is concerned. Many of the office toilets lack sanitary disposal bins. Challenge me if I am wrong. So imagine what all the trendy hand bags you see in town have inside them. Imagine how it feels when you are forced to walk around with such a mess but unfortunately you have not been given a choice either. Is it because there aren’t enough bins manufactured or imported to Rwanda? Or because there isn’t any proper garbage and sewerage disposal? Or is it because the heads of institutions haven’t realized that the women they work with actually go through menstruation every month of the year? Are you still wondering why she doesn’t want to see you after work? She most likely has a valid reason; she doesn’t have anywhere to put the box of chocolate you give her. Her bag is already full. karuthum@gmail.com
