KATHMANDU, JULY 21

More than one out of four adolescent girls miss school during the menstrual period, says a recent study.

According to the study on 'Factors that Trigger Girls' Absenteeism in School: An Analysis from Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management Study in Nepal' conducted by World Vision International Nepal in collaboration with Nepal Health Research Council, adolescent girls from disadvantaged indigenous nationalities were nearly three times more likely and relatively advantaged girls were nearly two times more likely to be absent from school during their menstruation period compared to the so-called upper caste groups.

Adolescent girls from Province 1 and Lumbini Province were 53 and 46 per cent respectively less likely to miss school than adolescent girls from Sudurpaschim Province.

The possible reasons for high school absenteeism in Sudurpaschim are high prevalence of socio-cultural taboos like Chhaupadi and low literacy rate compared to Province 1 and Lumbini Province.

Adolescent girls who defy the menstruation taboos/restrictions in the community and feel they can do something against it are 34 and 54 per cent respectively less likely to miss school compared to their counterparts who adhere to the age-old traditional practices. This shows that empowering adolescent girls can be helpful in reducing absenteeism in school, which is supported by the study conducted by Centre for Universal Education at Brookings in 2016.

'Those adolescent girls with higher menstrual stress were nearly 1.4 times more likely to miss school than their counterparts with low menstrual stress. Likewise, adolescent girls with higher menstrual annoyance and higher shame and secrecy were 1.5 times and 1.7 times respectively more likely to miss school during menstruation than their counterparts,' the finding reveals.

Mental stress is also common among adolescent girls, particularly due to the constant worry that others may know about their menstruation, which hinder their attendance in the school and also affect the quality of their performance in school in terms of attention and concentration on extracurricular activities even when they attend the school.

There are several factors associated with girls' absenteeism in the schools during menstruation. Several studies have revealed the need to develop different interventions, such as providing training to girls regarding the use of sanitary pads, mobilisation of child clubs to raise awareness about menstruation taboos and designating focal persons to provide psychological support to girls in a bid to reduce girls' absenteeism.

The study highlights that special provisions should be focused on Sudurpaschim Province and disadvantaged indigenous nationalities where there is a high rate of girls' absenteeism during the menstrual period. Furthermore, the practice of Chhaupadi in Sudurpaschim should be discouraged through the execution of law against superstitious beliefs and practices in close collaboration with the local government.

Moreover, menstruation-related awareness and advocacy programmes should not be merely limited to adolescent girls, but should also target household heads, religious leaders and other social leaders in a bid to reduce the stigma related to menstruation.

Moreover, development and implementation of gender responsive education plans and policies by the local government can be path-altering when it comes to reducing the girls' absenteeism in schools.

This study was conducted in all the seven provinces among a representative sample of 3,495 adolescent girls, aged between 10 to 19 years.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 22 2021, of The Himalayan Times.