In a move that has made Nairobi a global reference point for progressive workplace policy, the Kenya capital’s county government has enacted a law granting female employees two paid days off each month for menstrual pain and discomfort. The ordinance, signed by Governor Johnson Sakaja in December 2025 and confirmed in reporting this week, applies to approximately 8,000 women working across Nairobi City County departments — from health clinics to classrooms to road maintenance crews.
The policy has ignited fierce debate across Kenya, dividing opinion between those who celebrate it as a landmark step for women’s rights and others who warn it could deepen workplace discrimination. Proponents argue it recognizes a biological reality that has been ignored by formal labor structures for generations. Critics, including some male politicians and business leaders, say it sets a costly precedent and could discourage hiring women.
“It is not a privilege — it is a right,” Governor Sakaja said in a statement accompanying the policy announcement. “Women should not have to choose between their health and their paycheck. Menstruation is not a sickness; it is a natural process, and our policies should reflect that reality.”
The ordinance is notably rare across Africa. Most countries on the continent have no formal legal provision for menstrual leave, and informal workplace accommodations are the exception rather than the norm. Kenya’s policy follows a broader global conversation: South Korea, Indonesia, and Japan have had variations of menstrual leave on the books for decades, though uptake has often been low due to stigma. In Africa, companies occasionally offer such policies internally, but Nairobi is believed to be the first sub-national government on the continent to codify it into law.
For the estimated 8,000 women employed by Nairobi county, the new policy offers concrete relief. Research by the African Population and Health Research Center found that over 60 percent of women in Nairobi reported missing work or school at least once a month because of menstrual symptoms. Among schoolgirls, period-related absenteeism is a documented driver of dropout rates, particularly in rural areas.
Yet the policy has its limits. It applies only to county government employees, leaving out Nairobi’s vast informal workforce — the market vendors, domestic workers, and street traders who make up the bulk of the city’s labor force. Activists were quick to note this irony. “A woman selling tomatoes in Gikomba Market has no employer to apply to,” one women’s rights advocate observed. “This is a beginning, not an ending.”
Beyond leave, Kenya has pursued menstrual equity on multiple fronts. The country eliminated taxes on sanitary products in 2021, becoming one of the first African nations to do so. Still, access remains uneven: in remote counties, a packet of pads can cost the equivalent of a day’s wages. Advocates say comprehensive reform requires combining leave rights, tax policy, education, and affordable product distribution — a conversation that Nairobi’s new law has now placed firmly on the table.