INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT LACK OF APPROPRIATE SANITARY FACILITIES ON SCHOOL ATTENDANCE &
DROP-OUT RATE AMONG PUBESCENT GIRLS
1.
Introduction
Literacy
is one of the major indicators of a nation’s development. Girl Education is
receiving more attention. The millennium development goals has the elimination
of gender disparity in primary and secondary education as its target by 2015.
(MDG3). Moreover education for girls has numerous positive externalities. Education,
among women is associated with low fertility rates and increased access to
resources. It is against this background that the government of Malawi
introduced the free primary school in order to increase student’s enrollment
and increase literacy levels. However, they are a number of factors impeding
progress. Poverty remains one of the major challenge. In most communities’
girls’ education are mostly affected as parents prefer to educate male children
than their female children. Of late another challenge relates to menstruation.
Management of menstruation among pubescent girls is difficult in environment
where there are no proper sanitation facilities such as water, adequate pit
latrines and sanitary pads. Girls of puberty age miss many classes as the
schools they have do not have the proper sanitation facilities. It is
imperative that governments need to make measures ensuring that there are
adequate sanitation facilities in schools that will ensure easy menstrual
management. It has been noted that the denial of Menstrual Hygiene management
is a denial of human right as it affects the dignity of these young girls and
the birth right to education. Poor hygiene management has also adverse impacts
of the health of young girls. The total factor of poor hygiene management is
that it result in a national development loss.
2.
Problem
statement
Though
increasing literacy rate among females has been one of the key policy priority
areas in many developing countries girls are still lagging behind boys in
schooling attainment. Many factors such as poverty. According Lee & Kerner the reasons
for low enrollment
and incompletion of education
are numerous, but
the health and
nutrition status of
the children are
critical factors[1]. Hygiene in schools has contributed poor
health of children and interventions have been made to address this problem. In
Malawi efforts to improve sanitation facilities have been undertaken to
generally prevent health problems. The government of Malawi in conjunction with
UNICIEF are currently implementing a pilot project in 100 schools in the
districts of Nkhatabay and Kasungu (DeGabriele et-al 2014). The objectives of
the project have been the promotion of general hygiene among the students at
the schools, promoting a gender sensitive school sanitation and using the
students as carriers of hygiene messages to the communities from which they are
coming. Recognition has also been made that the availability of adequate and proper
hygiene facilities has an effect on school attendance of both boys and girls. However,
the extent to which absence of sanitation facilities affects menstrual
management and its effect on absenteeism has not been substantially
established.
That
is despite the recognition that absence of proper sanitation facilities has an
effect of school attendance for both boys and girls more especially at younger
age, there is no systematic
research that has been conducted on the relationship between the lack of
appropriate sanitary facilities and vis-à-vis menstruation management and the
drop-out rate of adolescent girls[2]. Existing
studies have focused on examining the relationship between menstruation and
school attendance. These studies have not incorporated the component of access
to sanitation facilities as a possible determinant of menstrual management
which in turn affect school attendance among female students. In his study Ahmed
recommends that further research need to be done to examine factors related to
managing menstruation such as sanitation and their effects on school
performance.
This study therefore aims to fill that gap.
3.
Purpose
of the study
This
study seeks to investigate the impact of lack of adequate and proper sanitation
facilities on girl’s menstruation management and school attendance. Owing to
differences in gender roles between males and females the absence of proper
sanitation facilities should have different impacts between girls and boys of
puberty age. Results from this study will increase gender awareness among
education policy maker and other development stakeholders. It will foster the
designing and implementation of development interventions that are gender
sensitive and allow the mainstreaming of gender in various development school
activities.
4.
Literature
review
The
onset of puberty comes with changes in the body of girls. Among girls
menstruation marks a major transition from childhood to adult. Menstruation or bleeding is
a natural process,
which begin to occur for girls between the ages of 9 and 16
years with a mean of 13 years
(Dasgupta and Sarkar, 2008;
Jones et al.,
2013) This Process takes place
about once a month during a woman’s reproductive years and last for about two
seven days[3].
Girl’s menstruation at the age of puberty brings a number of challenges that
they have to cope with. In many
societies menstruation is perceived with negativity and a public discussion of
it is considered as a taboo. In South Asia women are uncomfortable discussing the
topic of menstruation in public (Mahon & Fernandes, Water Aid report: 4). In
Kenya menstruation most girls brings challenges that push girls out of school (Chebi
S, 27). Further it is argued that for Kenya menstruation is not a healthy
concern today but also an educational policy concern. In Malawi, interventions
to deal with menstrual management seems to cropping from studies done in other
countries and there is no systematic studies that have been to establish the
linkage between menstruation and school attendance.
Several
studies have been conducted to investigate the impacts of menstruation management
on school attendance (UNICIEF, SNV& IRC[4], Bharadwaij
and Patkar, 2004 and Bodat et-al 2013). Guya notes that in some time studies
aimed at finding the factors influencing school dropout they did not consider
it as one of the factor. (Guya E, et-al
2004). This may be a result of regarding the issue of mensuration to be of
little priority. Existing evidence on the impacts of menstruation has been
conflicting. UNICIEF estimates have demonstrated that menstruation has a
negative impact of girl’s school attendance. It has estimated that 1-10 school
age fail to attend school during their menstruation. In India a study conducted on two reached the
conclusion that menstruation characteristics and associated physical and psychological
discomforts have an in effect on school performance[5].
The study demonstrated that in a sample of about 180 students menstruation
effects on students homework were 69.2%, on school attendance, 23.2% and on
exams it was 62.7% and on participation
in class activity it was 57.1%.[6] Another study conducted on 740 adolescent
girls in school discovered that 249 girls (43.2%) were absent from school
during the time they had menstruation.
The study recommended that in order to prevent school absenteeism among
these girls there is need for interventions that will focus on provision on
menstrual management facilities.
On
the other there is also a body of evidence suggesting that menstruation has little
impact on school attendance of pubescent girls. A study in Nepal aimed at
finding the impact of provision of better sanitary technologies such as
sanitary pads and menstrual cups made the conclusion that the attendance gap
induced by menstruation was less than a day in 365 days (Oster E, 2011: 92). It
rejected the view that better sanitary technology closes this small gap and that
policies to aim to address this issue are unlikely to result in schooling gains
(Ibid). However another was study was done in Nepal by Water Aid showed a
correlation between menstruation and school attendance. Mahon & Fernandes notes that over half of
the respondents in the Nepal study reported being absent from school at some
time, due to menstruation (Water Aid Report, 2010: 6). Lack of privacy for
cleaning and washing was the main reason. This difference in research results indicates
that factors relating to menstruation affecting school attendance have
different weights. One also needs to be aware that the study by Oster was
focusing on impact of the provision of better sanitary technologies while the
later focused on the broader impact hygiene facilities on menstrual management.
This difference in focus is bound to produce different results.
Locality
may also be a factor resulting in different outcomes from these studies.
Menstruation management can be affected by variables and therefore it is appropriate
to control relevant variables in order to derive results that are reliable and
consistent
It
is worth pointing out that the study by Oster E, 2011 (cited above) was done
using quantitative methods. Quantitative studies have shown to be producing
different results from qualitative studies done on this subject. This has also
been noted by a study that was conducted by Adukia (2013) which was investigating
the relationship between sanitation and education.
Cultural
perceptions about menstruation are different across societies of the world. In
his study Abraham[7]
(2001) argues that poor sanitation facilities do not necessarily keep girls
away from school, and that cultural beliefs are more of a barrier than the
absence of sanitation facilities. In most societies of Africa menstruation is
perceived with more negativity. It is this perception that even makes
menstruation a private issue. Lukalo (2010) as cited in Chebi noted that menstruation
is not just a private affair but also an embarrassing and often a source of
stigma for the girls when it is publicly exposed (Chebi page 29). Therefore, in
a culture where menstruation is highly regarded as a taboo it is necessary to
ensure privacy of the young girls in school by providing them with good
sanitation facilities that will enable the preservation of their dignity and
integrity. On the same it is important to devise measures that will promote the
free discussion of the topic of menstruation. Both UNICIEF and water aid have
also considered the provision of puberty education as one way of eradicating
which stigma which is promoted by societal beliefs.
Sanitation
facilities specifically infrastructure such as water and gender specific
toilets are an important variables in the management of menstruation among
girls of adolescent age. When a girl reaches puberty access to a safe, private
toilet can make a crucial difference. Due to poor sanitation facilities get
have pretended to be sick when they have monthly periods[8]. Girls
need clean water to wash themselves or their menstrual cloths and a place to
dispose of their menstrual pads if they are using them (World Toilet Day
Advocacy report 11). However, most of these are under provided or not even
available in most education institutions in Malawi. Most primary schools and
secondary do not have enough and clean sanitation facilities and this makes the
management of menstruation to be problematic. UNICIEF estimates in 2011, indicates
that only 45% of schools in least developed and low-income countries had adequate
sanitation facilities[9]. Sanitation
facilities are almost considered as a luxury in the design and construction of
many schools. This study seeks to investigate if lack of sanitation facilities
is a major factor that could affect class attendance among pubescent in Malawi.
Poor sanitation facilities does not only affect female students. Female
teachers are also affected by the problem to the extent they too miss classes
when their work places do not have facilities that will ensure their privacy[10].
Therefore, gains accrued from improving sanitation at schools will not only
improve student’s attendance but also teacher’s attendance.
References
Ahmed
H and Piro S, Impact of menstruation on
school performance in Sarwaran and Shahid Khajabawa high school in Erbil city,
Hawler Medical University,
Bharadwaj,
et-al (November, 2004), Menstrual Hygiene
and Management in Developing Countries: Taking Stock,
Chebii
SJ, Menstruation and Education: How a
lack of sanitary towels reduces school attendance in Kenyan slums BUWA! A
Journal on African Women's Experiences
Dasgupta
A and Sarkar M (2008). Menstrual hygiene: how hygienic is the adolescent girl in
India, Journal of Community Medicine, 33(2): 77-80
DeGabriele,
et-al (2014) Evaluation of the Strategic
Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion for Schools Pilot Projects Nkhatabay Bay and
Kasungu District,
Gender
Roles and Impact, http://www.wsp.org/Hygiene-Sanitation-Water-Toolkit/BasicPrinciples/GenderRoles.html
Jones
LL, et-al (2009). Age at menarche and the evidence for a positive secular trend
in urban South Africa. Am Journal Human Biology, 21: 130-132
Patchett,
E (2010) 'The Curse': the impact of sanitation on schoolgirls in the developing
worldhttp://www.theguardian.com/journalismcompetition/sanitation-schoolgirls.
Suman
B, et-al, (2013) School absenteeism
during menstruation among rural adolescent girls in Pune, National Journal of
Community Medicine Volume 4Issue 2
Thérèse
Mahon and Maria Fernandes (2011) Menstrual
hygiene in South Asia a neglected issue for WASH (water, sanitation and
hygiene) programmes, Water aid report
Uniliver
& Water Aid, We can’t wait a report
on sanitation and hygiene for women And girls, World toilet day advocacy
report
WHO Progress on sanitation and
drinking-water - 2013 Update.
[1] Save the children
[2]
http://www.wsp.org/Hygiene-Sanitation-Water-
[4] Study on menstrual
management in Uganda
[5] Hamdia Mirkhan Ahmed,
Impact of menstruation on school performance in Sarwaran
and Shahid Khajabawa high school in Erbil
city
[6] Ibid
[7] Abraham
(2001) cited from http://www.wsp.org/Hygiene-Sanitation-Water-Toolkit/BasicPrinciples/GenderRoles.html
[9] Raising even more
clean hands: Advancing health, learning and equity through WASH in schools.’
UNICEF 2012
[10]
http://www.wsp.org/Hygiene-Sanitation-Water-Toolkit/BasicPrinciples/GenderRoles.html
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