Discussion
’ emotions, fits, ’ behavior
Understanding how teachers view their role in supporting schoolgirls’ MHH is essential for normalizing menstruation and improving the well-being of schoolgirls. These findings assist in understanding the short-term impact of puberty education and access to improved menstrual items on student performance and emotional wellbeing at the school. This study is one of a handful of studies that draws on both the male and female teacher perspectives on menstruation, and one of the few to focus exclusively on teacher perspectives based on the large body of data available. Previous studies were limited in their inclusion of teacher perspective, with a maximum of 14 teachers to be interviewed for the whole study (While the teachers’ primary focus was girl’s academics, hygiene, and confidence, they also made a note of changes in dropouts and loosening of gender norms in communication with teachers from the baseline focus groups. Recognizing these changes is critical, as it informs how teachers perceive menstrual education, hygiene, and menstrual items in relation to improved management of menses. With this knowledge, it is important to navigate the roles that teachers currently play in girls’ management of their menses and the opportunities to enhance MHH through teacher and school-level involvement.This study recognizes teachers as important actors in global MHH. Considering the significant amount of time that teachers spend with girls and the role they play in the community, their own knowledge and feelings towards menses can significantly influence girls’ emotions towards their own cycle. At baseline, many teachers discussed how some students avoided certain teachers known for sharing their private conversations or unnecessarily interrogating those that were feeling ill. Other were seen as trustworthy allies the girls could share with. Several teachers recognized their own practices and the need for them to adapt to ensure girls were comfortable communicating their menstrual issues. The support of teachers to understand the struggles of menstruating girls in schools, and also to normalize menstruation in their attitudes and responses, will help create a gender equitable environment in schools. (In addition to the sensitization of teachers, puberty education is a key piece of creating an empowering environment. Teachers discussed the potential for teaching school menstrual education sooner in addition to offering it for boys. These moves are supported by a 2016 UNICEF report, which calls for the early start to menstrual education (age 5–8) and the education of boys (Informal education fostered by the school is as critical to menstrual health education as formal education is. Teachers saw the impact of the study among girls who were not enrolled in addition to those that were. Girls were taught the tools they had learned to help them better manage their own menses by their classmates. Mason et al. (Through this study, it is recognized that an MHH-supportive environment cannot simply be one created by teachers’ behavior and puberty education, it is one that must be formed through the development of facilities that support the needs of the girls experiencing their menses. As discussed by Sommer and Sahin, “inadequate water and sanitation facilities pose a major impediment to school-going girls during menstruation” (As we examine next steps for improving MHH championing schools, it is crucial to recognize the individual, culturally tied experience of menses that girls experience. Incorporating this understanding of menstruation in schools through sensitization of teachers, puberty education, and infrastructural changes will only further empower girls to manage it as best fits in their own cultural context.