Life Skills Must Be at the Heart of Menstrual Health Education for Adolescents

Dr. Subhomoy Bhaduri: Associate Director-Capacity Building and Collaboration, Magic Bus India Foundation

Deepika Rana, Lead- Programme Design and Technical Partnership, Magic Bus India Foundation

During a visit to a community hall filled with women from local Self-Help Groups, teachers, and community members, the discussion centered on the transformative changes they had brought to their villages. The stories and visuals on the whiteboard spoke of progress. However, when the conversation turned to adolescent girls and their struggles in schools during menstruation, the tone shifted. Her words revealed more than a hygiene issue-it was a story of silence, limited choices, and missed opportunities.

The Human Cost of Silence - Think of the girl sitting at the back of her classroom, afraid to stand up because of the stain on her uniform. Think of the thousands who miss out school due to lack of toilets, no disposal facilities and information on menstrual health management. These experiences are the real cost of neglecting skills in menstrual health education. Products can ease discomfort, but only skills can break the silence.

As per a study by Foundation Strategy Group (FSG), approximately 52% of the female population (26% of the global population) is of reproductive age, and most of these women and girls menstruate each month. On any given day, more than 800 million girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 are menstruating, and hundreds of millions of girls continue to face barriers to comfortable and dignified menstrual health

• In South Asia, 33% of girls had never heard of menstruation before their first period.
• 98% of girls were unaware that menstrual blood comes from the uterus.
• In Ethiopia, 25% of girls use no commercial products, isolating themselves during their cycles.
• Estimates suggest that more than half of women and girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) use homemade alternatives as their primary or secondary method for managing their periods.

Narrow Focus on Products:

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), only 64% of young women aged 15-24 in India use hygienic methods of protection during menstruation. However, the focus is often on disposable sanitary pads, which may not be affordable, accessible, or environmentally sustainable in rural areas.

Lack of Knowledge on Usage and Disposal:

Studies show that 71% of adolescent girls in India are unaware of menstruation until their first period. Inadequate guidance often leads to unsafe practices, including reusing unclean cloth or improper disposal of pads.

Let's build an ecosystem where every girl can learn, lead, and live with confidence.

Towards Menstrual Health Education - Creating lasting change requires expanding the scope of menstrual education:

Towards Menstrual Health Education - Creating lasting change requires expanding the scope of menstrual education:

Normalize Conversations in Schools, Communities and at Home- At Magic Bus we believe that barriers to coming to school regularly - solution lies not just in better infrastructure or availability and access to sanitary products, but in equipping girls with the life skills and menstrual health education to navigate these challenges themselves. During an activity "crossing the barriers" to reach point B from point A, while some were able to overcome the barriers some were not.

In conversations with adolescents, point B became the school and point A was their home and when asked about barriers they face to come to school regularly, a recurring issue emerged - on missing school during their periods. The reasons varied from- lack of access to affordable or hygienic menstrual products, dysfunctional or inaccessible school washrooms, no proper disposal facilities, the fear of staining uniforms and being shamed.

These challenges, compounded by the silence around menstruation, often force girls to stay home, falling behind in their education and other social activities.

When girls are given the space to talk openly and are equipped with life skills like problem solving, the solutions they come up with can be both practical and empowering.

On a follow up session on problem solving to discuss alternative solutions, these young girls proposed simple yet powerful solutions: Some shared instead of skipping school; two girls could stand guard for the washroom while another changes her pad/cloth. They also shared approaching their school principal, teacher, to have disposal bins in the girl's toilet.

These small acts of peer support, born from their own experiences, allowed them to manage their needs discreetly and confidently. It will not only help them remain in class but also demonstrated to teachers and adults that girls can manage their menstrual health better when equipped with the skills.

Another critical skill is communication - at school, in communities, and most importantly, at home. Many girls still face cultural taboos that prevent them from speaking openly about menstruation, even with their parents or siblings. This silence often leads to unhygienic practices, such as hiding menstrual cloths indoors instead of drying them in sunlight or not asking for help when products run out, or when there is a discomfort or cramps

When girls are equipped with skills like communication, they become more confident in discussing their needs; They can explain the importance of menstrual health and hygiene to their families, schools and at community, ask for better sanitation at school, break the cycle of secrecy that has persisted for generations

Creating an Enabling Environment

Girls' empowerment cannot happen in isolation. Support from families, schools, and communities is essential and for that it is equally important to educate the communities on menstrual health to ensure that the ecosystem is equipped with knowledge to create an enabling environment for young girls to thrive.

Parents: Help break the silence at home, provide information beginning before or around the onset of menarche, and ensure access to products and emotional support.
Community Leaders: Challenge harmful myths, promote open dialogue, and mobilize resources for menstrual-friendly facilities.
School Management Committees (SMCs): Prioritize safe toilets, water, and disposal systems, and integrate menstrual health into school development plans.
Men and Boys: Become allies-reject teasing, show empathy, and help normalize menstruation as a healthy, everyday reality.

The Way Forward

By embedding life skills into menstrual health education with a strong support system from parents, leaders, schools, men, and boys, we ensure every girl has the confidence, knowledge, and agency to manage menstruation with dignity and to thrive in all aspects of life.

"Menstrual health is not just about products-it's about dignity, confidence, participation and opportunity."

Change begins with conversation. Support menstrual health education that empowers girls to stay in school.