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Paper short abstract:

This research seeks to understand how the intersection of socio-cultural, economic and physical factors affects the capacities of adolescent girls to manage menstruation, within resource-poor communities in Uganda. It utilises a feminist phenomenological framework, to privilege participant voices.

Paper long abstract:

The lived experience of menstruation differs across contexts. In resource-poor communities, the intersection of socio-cultural, economic and physical factors affects the capacities of adolescent girls to manage menstruation. In Uganda, the patriarchal construction of menstruation as “something that you have to hide” creates pressure on adolescent girls to conceal their menses, leading to menstrual stigma. Previous research has neglected menstrual stigma as a qualitative measure of menstrual experience. Instead, school absenteeism and WASH have remained focal points of analysis within studies across resource-poor contexts. Additionally, human rights-based frameworks have further contributed to marginalising diverse experiences of menstruation.

This research aims to understand how issues of menstrual health management (MHM) exacerbate the embodied experiences of menstrual stigma for adolescent girls living in resource-poor communities around Kampala, Uganda. The research also addresses how community-based approaches are supporting girls to navigate menstruation-related challenges, through the case study of Kids Club Kampala (KCK). Utilising a feminist phenomenological framework, this study thematically analyses qualitative data on the menstrual experiences of adolescent girls in two slum communities and one non-slum community, inclusive of girls both in and out of school. The results suggest that communication taboos, gendered expectations of womanhood, and the economic and physical environment exacerbate menstrual stigma. The study finds that KCK is contributing to protecting vulnerable girls from gender-based harms solicited by menarche, in addition to sanitary pad provision. The study concludes that more attention needs to be drawn to menstrual stigma as a catalyst in exacerbating challenges to MHM, and vice versa.