Menstruation signals a girl’s entry into womanhood, sexual activity, and reproduction and as such, is a crucial time for
adolescent girls to learn about their bodies and their health. Yet effective solutions to improve menstrual healthi are
lacking, as evidenced by girls’ lack of knowledge and unhealthy practices. In Nepal, less than half of adolescent girls have
adequate knowledge about menstruation, and only one in ten practices good menstrual hygiene.ii Adolescent girls’
inability to effectively manage menstrual hygiene affects their education, physical health, psychological and emotional
well-being, and general quality of life.
Adolescent girls in Nepal face many sexual and reproductive health problems and challenges, amidst gender disparity and
other discriminatory social norms in Nepali society. Child marriage is legally prohibited, yet one in four girls is married before
the age of 19. The median age at first marriage is 17 years. The adolescent fertility rate is 71 per 1,000 women aged 15-19
years with wider differences in urban and rural settings (33% in urban and 80% in rural).iii During menstruation, a majority
of girls (89%) also experienced some form of restrictions or exclusion.iv One extreme form of menstrual seclusion practice
is called Chhaupadi, a common social tradition in the far and mid-western hills and mountains that requires menstruating
women to leave home and live in a chhau goth (cowshed or hut). Menstrual restrictions and traditional beliefs vary by
ethnicity; for example, Hindu ethnic groups such as Brahmin, Chhetri, and Newar, have more restrictions than Janajatis
(ethnic Nepalis).