A reason to smile: the five ‘A’s approach to promote menstrual hygiene management in adolescent girls
Menstrual hygiene is an issue that every girl has to deal with from adolescence until menopause. Bringing the issue of menstrual hygiene management (MHM) out of the closet has been a constant struggle and challenge, even in a progressive state like Maharashtra, India, where nearly 19 million adolescent girls and women of menstrual age live (55 per cent of total rural female population of the state, GoI, 2011). Field studies by UNICEF suggest only 13 per cent of menstruating adolescent girls between 11 and 19 years of age were aware of menstruation before menarche and 60–70 per cent of adolescent girls do not attend school during their time of menstruation. Also, 84 per cent report the absence of a place to change absorbents at school. Girls simply stay away from school to avoid staining and embarrassment. Given the nature of the findings, which involves both demand (awareness) and supply (access) interventions, this paper proposes a framework of enabling factors at five levels: awareness, aspiration, affordability, availability, and access. The paper looks at an approach to design and implement MHM programmes with scale, and concludes with recommendations based on systemic challenges in the overall political and administrative priority for MHM programmes in India with reference to Maharashtra.Government of India (GoI) (2011) Census of India, Delhi: Office of the Registrar General
Thakre, S.B., Thakre, S.S., Ughade, S. and Thakre, A.D. (2012) ‘Urban–rural differences in menstrual problems and practices of girl students in Nagpur, India’, Indian Pediatrics 49(9): 733–6.
World Bank (2010) Mainstreaming Gender in Water and Sanitation [online], Water and Sanitation Program Working Paper, Washington, DC: WSP, World Bank <http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2010/11/13715856/mainstreaming-gender-water-sanitation> [accessed 27 January 2016].
Government of India (GoI) (2011) Census of India, Delhi: Office of the Registrar General
Thakre, S.B., Thakre, S.S., Ughade, S. and Thakre, A.D. (2012) ‘Urban–rural differences in menstrual problems and practices of girl students in Nagpur, India’, Indian Pediatrics 49(9): 733–6.
World Bank (2010) Mainstreaming Gender in Water and Sanitation [online], Water and Sanitation Program Working Paper, Washington, DC: WSP, World Bank <http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2010/11/13715856/mainstreaming-gender-water-sanitation> [accessed 27 January 2016].
Government of India (GoI) (2011) Census of India, Delhi: Office of the Registrar General
Thakre, S.B., Thakre, S.S., Ughade, S. and Thakre, A.D. (2012) ‘Urban–rural differences in menstrual problems and practices of girl students in Nagpur, India’, Indian Pediatrics 49(9): 733–6.
World Bank (2010) Mainstreaming Gender in Water and Sanitation [online], Water and Sanitation Program Working Paper, Washington, DC: WSP, World Bank <http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2010/11/13715856/mainstreaming-gender-water-sanitation> [accessed 27 January 2016].
Government of India (GoI) (2011) Census of India, Delhi: Office of the Registrar General
Thakre, S.B., Thakre, S.S., Ughade, S. and Thakre, A.D. (2012) ‘Urban–rural differences in menstrual problems and practices of girl students in Nagpur, India’, Indian Pediatrics 49(9): 733–6.
World Bank (2010) Mainstreaming Gender in Water and Sanitation [online], Water and Sanitation Program Working Paper, Washington, DC: WSP, World Bank <http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2010/11/13715856/mainstreaming-gender-water-sanitation> [accessed 27 January 2016].
Exploring young women’s menstruation-related challenges in Uttar Pradesh, India, using the socio-ecological framework
McCammon, Ellen
Bansal, Suchi
Hebert, Luciana E.
Yan, Shirley
Menendez, Alicia
Gilliam, Melissa
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Andoh, Lily N.A.
Dey, Nutifafa Eugene Yaw
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Agbadi, Pascal
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Yari, Asiyeh
Kabiri, Bahareh
Afzali Harsini, Pooyan
Khani Jeihooni, Ali
Women & Health, Vol. 64 (2024), Iss. 1 P.65
https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2023.2294970 [Citations: 1]- A call to action: organizational, professional, and personal change for gender transformative WASH programming
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