Girl Students' Perspectives on Cultural Barriers During Menstruation

Culture is created by humans; one belief system dates back to the dawn of civilisation. It has brought people together under a same set of beliefs. People's personalities are shaped by their culture. The major goal of this research is to discover the cultural hurdles that girls face during their menstrual cycle. A total of 120 secondary school females participated in the study. According to the study, 50% of girls said they were denied access to daily tasks such as cooking and collecting water, while more than 80% of females said they were denied access to religious areas during menstruation. The findings revealed that cultural traditions continue to promote stigma and prejudice against girls during menstruation, which has a direct impact on their personal and professional growth and development, as well as a substantial impact on menstrual hygiene management. As a result, a huge public awareness campaign on the deleterious effects of unhealthy cultural practices associated to menstruation is required.

Because Nepal is a multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-caste, and multi-ethnic country, different tribes, races, and cultural groups have different cultural belief systems. The cultural taboos around menstruation vary by region in Nepal. As a result of their cultural context and religious system, people had diverse perspectives on menstruation girls and women. Attitudes, beliefs, and social norms around menstruation vary widely over the world, and these differences have an impact on menstrual behaviors. Certain people feel that menstruation is filthy and that women who are menstrual are unclean (Burrows & Johnson, 2005; Ahmed & Yesmin, 2008; Burnet Institute; Survey METER; WaterAid Australia; Aliansi Rem aja Independen, 2015).

Girls and women can be isolated and stigmatized as a result of cultural assumptions and restricted practices surrounding menstruation (Adhikari, Kadel, Dhungel, & Mandal, 2006; Tamiru, 2014). When this is the case, menstrual stigma and secrecy can lead to gender inequity and discrimination against women and girls throughout their lives. Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) and the amount to which menstruation can be managed properly and with dignity can be influenced by such restricting behaviors (House, Mahon, & Cavill, 2012). Restrictive menstrual habits can have significant psychosocial consequences for girls and women (House, Mahon, & Cavill, 2012). Harmful menstrual practices are a kind of social discrimination and abuse against women and girls. They are denied access to a variety of household and social activities.

Menstrual girls and women are not allowed to enter the kitchen, holy sites, or engage in cultural programs in Nepalese society. They were not allowed to touch the water tap, fruit trees, or any food items, and they were not given milk because menstruating women and girls were considered impure and unclean. As a result of these socio-cultural beliefs about menstrual women and girls, the primary goal of this study is to investigate the cultural hurdles that menstrual girls face.

Materials and Procedures 

The study included 120 female secondary school students from both public and private schools in Kathmandu's district. The girls were chosen from grades 9 and 10 who had prior experience with menstrual hygiene management and cultural taboos around menstrual females. A systematic questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain quantitative data, as well as a focus group discussion with females to learn more about their experiences. The study's main goal was to look into the cultural beliefs and challenges around menstruation. The female students were informed about the study's goal and were asked to provide an honest response in order to learn about real-world practices. The study took into account the ethical issue, thus no females were forced to participate. The confidentiality of the information was respected, and it was not used for any other purpose than the study. The quantitative data from the survey was analyzed using a statistical model, while the qualitative data was analyzed using a qualitative technique. By combining the findings of both forms of data, a decision was drawn.