A recent study has recommended initiating community-centred educational programmes to dismantle menstrual taboos and implement policy changes for advancing sanitation facilities.
The recommendations came out from the study titled “Improving Adolescent Girls' Well-Being Through Gender-Sensitive Sanitation in Suburban Bangladeshi Schools” published in Userhub, read a press release on Monday.
Researchers also recommended coordination between educational institutions, governmental organisations, and NGOs to foster an equitable and supportive educational environment for adolescent girls.
The study by Samira Ahsan and Wahid bin Ahsan sheds light on the challenges of adolescent girls in suburban schools due to insufficient gender-sensitive sanitation facilities.
The study adopts a comprehensive, multi-stakeholder approach, involving female students, educators, parents, and NGO representatives, to diagnose the root causes and consequences of these limitations.
This research reveals not only the stark inadequacies in sanitation but also the prevailing societal norms and cultural stigmas related to menstruation.
The study includes adolescent girls (Aged 13-17), providing firsthand experiences and insights into the challenges faced in sub-urban educational settings, educational Staff offering institutional perspectives, including administrative procedures and policies affecting sanitation and education.
The participant groups also include parents and guardians and NGO representatives.
The study found dropouts, a multifaceted problem, adding that while inadequate sanitary facilities contribute to increased absenteeism and eventual dropouts, interviews suggest that this is not the sole factor.
It added that NGO workers involved in Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) initiatives find multiple obstructions.
The obstructions are restricted permissions to assess sanitary facilities in elite schools, resistance from institutions to external scrutiny, and difficulties in establishing the link between sanitary facilities and educational outcomes.
Besides, cultural stigma and taboos, the social unease surrounding menstrual discussions necessitates public education in those areas.
Resource Constraints and financial and logistical challenges persist, particularly for NGOs with limited budgets and language and literacy Barriers, ensuring effective communication may require the incorporation of local languages or visual aids to transcend language and literacy obstacles are also challenges in awareness programs, the study found.
