Katine health

Unsanitary conditions for schoolgirls

Girls in Uganda have to overcome many hurdles to get a decent education. Avoiding early marriage and pregnancy are two, but poor toilet facilities and a lack of sanitary products can result in girls staying away from class a few days each month

Young girls wanting to go to school in Katine often face an uphill struggle. Many won't finish their primary education or go on to secondary school.

The enrolment ledger at Katine primary school is testament to the struggles headteacher Ameel Didimos faces in trying to keep girls in the classroom. While the numbers of boys and girls in the younger classes are almost on a par, there is a steady decline in the number of girls enrolling in the more senior classes.

"The problem is that for many of our girls, they might start school, but there is no chance that all those enrolled at the beginning of term will even end the school year still in education," he says.

A young girl in Katine has to overcome many obstacles to complete her primary education, but most of which have little to do with academic ability. Many are linked in some way to adolescence and sexual health. Early marriage and pregnancy are two big issues, but the more mundane concerns of dealing with menstruation and being able to afford sanitary towels can impact on studies.

Santina Awio, senior woman teacher in charge of girls at Katine primary school, has told the Guardian that lack of access to simple things like sanitary towels can have far wider implications on the health and education of young girls in the sub-county.

"Many girls have in the past dropped out of school due to early involvement in sex… some victims of such circumstances have confessed to me that they are lured into illicit sex, at times with men twice as old as them, as a means of getting some of the basic needs, such as a sanitary pad," she said.

"Sanitary towels are too expensive, a packet costs more than UShs 5,000 [$2.50] and we don't have that money to spend," says Winnie Akurut, a 14-year-old pupil at the school. "I ask my parents, but they say they can't afford it either and sometimes I don't want to come to school when I am menstruating because the boys mock you if they see."

A Unicef report on child friendly schools, published earlier this year, called for the needs of girls to be taken into consideration when schools are built so they don't skip class when they are menstruating. Girls and female teachers often refuse to attend school during menstruation because of inadequate toilet facilities or embarrassment, which can result in absenteeism for up to a fifth of school time, found the report. Absenteeism can lead girls to fall behind in their studies, which "may very well be the ﬁrst step towards dropping out".

The report said that during menstruation most low-income women in developing countries use cloth or rags to absorb blood, materials that can cause bad odours and leak. In some cultures and among the very poor some women do not use anything to absorb menstrual blood. "Spending long hours at school without being able to wash properly can be an inconvenience to menstruating women and cause them embarrassment," said Unicef.

The report called for schools to be built with private areas that allow girls to wash and dry cloths and rags used each month, or for schools to provide sanitary products.

Girls in Katine say in the absence of being able to afford sanitary pads, they use whatever they have at their disposal, which are often bits of old cloth, newspaper or grass or reeds. When money allows, some teachers will buy their female pupils sanitary towels.

Until last year a government grant meant that Katine school was able to provide free sanitary pads to girls sitting their primary leaving exams, but this money has now stopped.

There are initiatives springing up across Uganda to try to help provide women and girls with more affordable alternatives to off-the-shelf sanitary towels. A UN-backed initiative is creating sanitary pads, called Makapads, from papyrus reeds. There are now moves to partner with the Ugandan government to make it mandatory for schools to make Makapads available to girls in all primary and secondary schools at a cost of UShs 650 for a packet of 10.

"It seems like a small thing, but being able to provide sanitary towels to girl pupils meant more of them sat their exams and stayed in school for the whole month," said Didimos. "It can make a big difference."

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