I was about to let the day pass with no such post from me, then I caught myself.

"But that's the point, isn't it?"

The vast majority of the conversation around #MenstrualHealth is by women and organisations.

I've seen very few men engaging, and even then, it's often within the context speaking in or for an organisation.

And that's the point, isn't it?

We often very quickly remove ourselves from such conversations - "Mambo ya wanawake," as some of these matters are often referred to as.

How ingrained is this mindset? Well, every time I go to the supermarket aisle stocking menstrual hygiene products, I always meet at least one person with a momentary look of confusion on their face, before the poker face comes back on.

Once, an attendant, with incredible concern on their face, asked me if I was lost and needed help finding a different section. Which, tickling as that memory remains to me, underscores the point.

That "mambo ya wanawake" mindset has, unfortunately influenced pretty much every aspect of life you care to mention. That's why menstrual products in many places still have taxes on them as though they're luxury items.

That's why in some parts of our country, it's taboo to even touch a woman on her period. That's why in September of last year, a girl took her own life after her teacher humiliated her for the utterly inconceivable crime of having her first period in class.

And isn't that the point? Isn't it more than "mambo ya wanawake"?

Menstrual hygiene is not and should not remain a one-sided affair. Continuing to treat it as such, as men, ignores a fundamental truth: It's not a luxury.

It's a NEED - as much a need as nutrition, shelter and clothing. It's a RIGHT - as a matter of dignity.

By no means am I a spokesperson for men, neither am I fully capable of understanding the intricacies of living life as a woman.

What I do is speak from my experience as a man, and what I practise and consistently advocate for is empathy.

It's from a point of empathy that I can appreciate the urgency herein, and it's from that very point that, if you're a man who happens to come by this thread, allow me to make a suggestion:

Start with just one thing. Wherever you are, whatever your capacity.