Menstruation – a taboo subject and a barrier for girls’ education
If girls in Afghanistan at all talk about menstruation, then they whisper so no one can hear. But now SCA will support 7 000 schoolgirls to learn how to manage their menstruation. In addition, they will have access to hygienic toilets in schools.
-The teachers lack knowledge about menstruation and do not want to talk about such a sensitive issue with the students. When girls are menstruating they tend to stay home from school and risk falling behind in their studies, explains Arya Faroqi, recently hired by the SCA to mobilize people in the local communities where the new project for menstrual hygiene is carried out.
This day she is conducting a training for teachers in the district Feroz Nakhchir, in the province of Samangan. A visit from a foreign man to follow the activity raises a lot of attention. Partly because Feroz Nakhchir until very recently was an area that no foreigner could visit due to security reasons. But even more so because this is a project concerning a taboo subject, which no man is expected to talk to women about. The teachers participating in the training are totally covered, and no one is willing to be interviewed.
Arya Faroqi display posters informing about how to manage hygiene and how to take care of menstrual pads. Teachers are trained to pass the knowledge on to the teenage girls in their schools. In order to increase support the girls get from home, 1 000 mothers will receive training under the project.
-This is the second district where I conduct training for teachers. At the first training I noticed that there were mistaken beliefs. Some teachers considered menstrual pads to be something sinful and thought that you could lose your virginity if you used them, says Arya Faroqi.
Dirty and unhygienic toilets in schools is another reason why many girls choose to stay home when they are menstruating.
The project includes 50 schools in Balkh, Samangan and Laghman, and is funded by the Postcode Lottery. At every school a hygienic toilet will be constructed, where girls can change pads and wash themselves. The toilets you find in the schools today are often dirty and unhygienic, which is another reason why girls stay home from school when they are menstruating.