Resources / The girl with her period is the one to hang her head’ - Reflections on menstrual management among schoolgirls in rural Kenya

Summary

As interventions aim to improve female attendance in schools, it is important to explore how menstruation is perceived and navigated by girls in the school environment. This research conveys the perceptions and menstrual practices of school girls in rural Kenya.

Focused discussions captured in this publication became an information and experience-sharing platform, as well as as an opportunity to advise each other on coping mechanisms. Participants expressed fear, shame, distraction and confusion as feelings associated with menstruation. Among the many methods for Menstural Hygiene Management in this context, participants stated that they were often forced to fold , bunch-up or sew cloth, including cloth from shirts or dresses, scraps of old cloth, or strips of an old blanket during this period. Cloth was reported to frequently leak and cause chafing,which made school attendance difficult particularly as the day progressed. Attitudes and practices of girls toward menstruation have been categorised into personal, environmental and behavioural factors.

This research was conducted under the umbrella of SWASH+, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.