WUNRN
Menstruation Accounts
for Only a Small Proportion of
Girls’ School
Absenteeism in
Adolescent girls’
school attendance is unlikely to increase substantially through the improvement
of toilet facilities or provision of sanitary supplies.
In many countries of the developing world, and
especially in rural areas, girls who attend school
do so for only a few years, often dropping out
when they are in their early teenage years.
The reasons for school dropout vary.
Education for girls is not considered important
or is actively opposed in some societies. Often
girls are expected to marry at an early age;
few stay in school afterward, especially if they
have children. Economic factors can be just as
important because families sometimes cannot
afford school fees for any or all of their children.
When decisions must be made among siblings
in regards to education, boys nearly always are
given priority.
The slow but steady change in traditions
and school access in parts of the developing
world has provided more and more girls with
opportunities to attend school regularly and
remain enrolled longer. Yet as such barriers fall,
it is important to consider other reasons why
girls are absent from school or withdraw.
One potential factor often discussed in
relation to adolescent girls is menstruation.
There is no doubt that menstruation is associated
with numerous physical, socio-cultural,
and economic challenges for female students
in the developing world. Among them are
the physical discomforts and inconveniences
of menstruation, ranging from cramps to
headaches; lack of access to adequate sanitary
materials and toilets on school grounds; and
insufficient understanding of menstruation,
which can lead to shame and poor preparation
for dealing with the physical issues. Poverty
plays an important role as well: even if sanitary
napkins are available to purchase in a community,
many girls and their families cannot
afford them.
All of these problems may interfere with
a student’s ability to participate in classroom
activities. In some cases, they may limit her
inclination or ability to attend school altogether.
However, despite the intuitively clear
links between menstruation-related challenges
and the quality and length of girls’ schooling
(including absenteeism), little evidence exists
as to whether there is a direct relationship. A
recent Population Council study, “Menstruation
and school absenteeism: Evidence from
rural
better understanding such links and identifying
potential entry points to overcome the
main barriers.
The
Adolescent Survey
The authors—Monica Grant of the University of
Cynthia B. Lloyd, and Council researcher
Barbara Mensch—focused on
several reasons. The country has one of the
highest recorded rates of school absenteeism
among adolescents in sub-Saharan
data were available from the Population Council’s
(MSAS), a school-based survey undertaken from
2007–2013 in two rural districts in the southern
part of the country. More than 1,600 students
from 59 primary schools participated in the
survey. All were aged 14–17 when they first
participated in 2007; most were re-interviewed
each year through the end of the survey.
The researchers used MSAS findings to create
statistical models to explore potential factors
affecting variations in menstruation-related
absenteeism. The models contained school- and
individual-level variables including type of
toilets available and their cleanliness; privacy
of school toilets; travel time to and from school;
the presence of older female relatives at home;
and parental encouragement for studying and
school attendance.
What were the main findings?
Findings show that nearly one-third of female
students reported missing at least one day
of school during their previous menstrual
period. However, the data indicate that menstruation
accounts for only a small proportion
of all female absenteeism. The lack of a
gender gap in overall absenteeism underscores
this finding.
The study’s authors interpret the results of
their research as suggesting that absenteeism
due to menstruation does not stem primarily
from school environment (e.g., cleanliness
and privacy of toilets).
“Menstruation accounts for only a small
proportion of female absenteeism among
school-going adolescents in
Lloyd. “Absenteeism is not affected by features
of the school environment such as the type,
cleanliness, and privacy of toilet facilities.”
Findings clearly show, however, that
factors associated with girls’ home environments
can be significantly associated with lower likelihood
of absence during the last menstrual period. These
include co-residence with older women (especially a
grandmother) and the amount of time girls are able to
study at home, which is partly related to parental
support and encouragement.
What are the lessons for the future?
Based on these observations, the authors conclude
that adolescent girls’ school attendance
is unlikely to increase substantially through
the improvement of toilet facilities or provision
of sanitary supplies—interventions in support
of girls’ education that have been proposed by
many in the policy and NGO communities.
Nevertheless, such interventions are likely to
improve the quality of girls’ lives.
In addition, the authors note the potential
value of increasing the availability of
analgesics that lessen pain during menstruation.
That recommendation is based on the
finding that school absence at such times
is closely related to the severity of physical
symptoms. Almost 85 percent of girls who
reported missing school during their last
menstrual period said the primary reason was
one or more of the following: heavy bleeding,
cramps, or diarrhea.
The findings also reflect the critical
importance of support at home. Female
students with parents and other relatives who
are invested in their education appear to be
more motivated to avoid missing school for
any reason, including menstruation. Efforts
to increase support for girls’ schooling, such
as policies that reduce domestic drudgery or
provide after-school programs for girls that
protect time for their studies, might be more
successful than the provision of menstrual
supplies in reducing absenteeism.
SOURCE
Grant, Monica, Cynthia B. Lloyd, and Barbara
Mensch. 2013. “Menstruation and school absenteeism:
Evidence from rural
Education Review 57(2): 260–284.