How My First Period Snuck Up On Me
Wanjiku Wahome
Right in the middle of my Kiswahili KCPE exam, I had my first “time of the month”… and it was shocking in an unfortunately common way.
Right in the middle of my Kiswahili KCPE exam, I had my first “time of the month”… and it was shocking in an unfortunately common way.
As a young woman, being able to go out (at night) without needing permission from my parents was one coming-of-age privilege I deeply longed for. And so when the time came for me to explore nightlife, I relished in the freedom that came with it. Luckily for me, I am the youngest of all my female maternal cousins, with a nine year age gap between myself and the sister I follow. Naturally, this guaranteed lots of great advice when I started clubbing.
The first time I truly looked at my vagina, I was 27 years old.
I have a toxic relationship with my hair. My 4C, tightly curled beautiful hair. I don’t always feel like it’s beautiful. I think it is partly because 4C hair is only praised when it’s long, and only on social media.
The Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns and all, forced me to sit with my unbraided hair for months as I couldn’t leave my house to go to my braiding lady at Kenyatta Market, tied to the fact that I also do not know how to braid my own hair. Isn’t it sad that I mostly feel beautiful in my braids or cornrows? Only occasionally do I enjoy wearing out my afro.
Today, communities across the world are marking International Safe and Legal Abortion Day, a day which draws its origins in the Latin America struggles of the ‘90s in pursuit of the decriminalisation of abortion.
As I sip my coffee and stare out at the parking lot from my office window, I reflect on how, years ago, I had imagined
Sprout I’m 11 when I first feel an unusual tenderness and slight swelling on my chest. It happens by accident when my hand grazes my
If I told you the lady stepping out of the Audi Q7 dressed in a floral sheer kimono and burnt orange palazzo pants is a survivor of FGM, you most probably won’t believe me.
On a trip to see her grandmother during the pandemic, Claire took a picture of three ladies just before everybody left. Through this photo of
A day that started out chaotic in Mumbi’s household later progressed to reveal family support and love. Through a photo taken by her father of
