HURDLES
Cultural Taboo: The culture of
silence around mensuration
creates barriers to open
discussion and support.
Fear and Isolation: Without
education from the parents
and teachers, girls often begin
menarche in isolation, without
any understanding of what is
happening to their bodies.
Limited Resources: In many
low-resource settings, this
culture of silence is
compounded by limited
resources to help manage
their periods.
In many low-resource settings,
women must be resourceful and use
recycled or old cloth as the primary
tool for period management, though
women and girls have also been
known to use mattress stuffing, old
rags, sheets of school workbooks,
even dried leaves and ash. In few
parts of India, girls are forbidden to
touch food or sleep in the house when
they're menstruating. Lack of
sanitation facilities can put girls at
risk when needing to manage
menstruation in the open. As a result,
girls miss out on a host of
opportunities, limiting their
participation in their own
development and that of their
commun