Menstrual health and hygiene is extremely crucial to allow women, girls, and other menstruators to reach their full potential. It is crucial to women’s and adolescent girls’ well-being and empowerment. More than 300 million women worldwide menstruate on any given day. An estimated 500 million people do not have access to menstrual products or adequate menstrual hygiene management facilities. It is about more than just access to sanitary pads and appropriate toilets – though those are important. It is also about ensuring women and girls live in an environment that values and supports their ability to manage their menstruation with dignity.
While menstruation is a normal and healthy part of life for most women and girls, the experience of menstruation is still hampered in many societies by cultural taboos and discriminatory social norms.The difficulties that menstruating girls, women, and other menstruators face go beyond a simple lack of supplies or infrastructure. Menstruation marks a girl’s transition into womanhood, sexual activity, and reproduction, and is thus an important time for adolescent girls to learn about their bodies and health.
Misconceptions and negative attitudes about menstruation are created as a result of the lack of information about menstruation, which motivates shaming, bullying, and even gender-based violence. Poor menstrual health and hygiene are exacerbating social and economic inequalities for generations of girls and women, negatively impacting their education, health, safety, and human development.
Importance of Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH)
MHH is critical for the realization of girls’ and women’s rights, which is a key goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Access to MHH for women and girls is a component of gender-responsive WASH services. Menstrual Health and Hygiene addresses access to safe and affordable sanitary materials to manage their menstruation to decrease their risk of infections. Girls and women need access to WASH facilities, affordable and appropriate menstrual hygiene materials, information on good practices, and a supportive environment where they can manage menstruation without embarrassment or stigma to effectively manage their menstruation.
However, effective menstrual health solutions are lacking, as evidenced by girls’ lack of knowledge and unhealthy practices. In Nepal, less than half of adolescent girls have adequate menstrual knowledge, and only one in ten practices good menstrual hygiene. Adolescent girls’ inability to manage menstrual hygiene effectively has an impact on their education, physical health, psychological and emotional well-being, and overall quality of life.
