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Menstrual knowledge and perceptions of schoolgirls in Bangladesh: do socio-economic factors really matter?

Gulsan Ara Parvin (College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, Osaka, Japan and Rural Planning and Sustainable Rural Development Laboratory, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan)
Nina Takashino (College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, Osaka, Japan)
Md. Shahidul Islam (Research and Development Cell of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and Bangladesh Institute of Social Research (BISR) Trust, Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Md. Habibur Rahman (Tropical Forest Environmental Studies Laboratory, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan)
Md. Anwarul Abedin (Department of Soil Science, Laboratory of Environment and Sustainable Development, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh)
Mrittika Basu (Laboratory of Sustainable Rural Development, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan)

International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare

ISSN: 2056-4902

Article publication date: 7 October 2021

Issue publication date: 5 July 2023

115

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore whether socio-economic factors determine the level of menstrual knowledge and perceptions of schoolgirls in Bangladesh. The aim of this study is to understand how knowledge and perceptions vary with variations in the different socio-economic factors in a schoolgirl’s life such as place of residence, religion, age, grade, parents’ education, parents’ occupation, family income and even family size.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from four schools (two in urban areas and two in rural areas). A total of 450 schoolgirls from grades V–X were interviewed to examine how knowledge and perceptions varied with different socio-economic aspects. Multiple logistic regression models were used to measure the associations between various socio-economic variables and perceptions of and knowledge about menstruation.

Findings

Respondents from urban areas were 4.75 times more likely and those 14–16 years old were two times more likely to report higher levels of knowledge about menstruation compared to their counterparts. Based on the father’s occupation, respondents whose father was engaged in a professional occupation were 1.983 times more likely to have a higher level of knowledge on menstruation compared to those whose fathers were in an unskilled profession. Similarly, the odds of positive perceptions on menstruation were 1.456 and 1.987 times higher, respectively, among respondents living in urban areas and those 14–16 years old, compared to their counterparts.

Originality/value

This study provides evidence that different socio-economic and even demographic factors are important in the development of menstrual knowledge and perceptions. Policy formulation and development actions related to adolescent girls’ physical and reproductive health development need to consider these factors in Bangladesh and in other developing countries, where poor knowledge and perception related to menstruation are hindering girls’ mental and physical development. This is expected that better knowledge and perception will facilitate girls’ right to have better health and social lives.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through its Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, KAKENHI Grant Number 21H03727). We highly appreciate the kind cooperation of schoolgirls and their teachers from the Government Coronation Girls’ School, Sultana Hamidali Girls’ School, Shahos Nowakathi Government High School and Ulamoikhali Government School of Khulna District. We also thank survey assistants Farhana Islam, Jesmine Khan and Tamim Shamshi Mim for their sincere efforts in conducting this survey.

Citation

Parvin, G.A., Takashino, N., Islam, M.S., Rahman, M.H., Abedin, M.A. and Basu, M. (2023), "Menstrual knowledge and perceptions of schoolgirls in Bangladesh: do socio-economic factors really matter?", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 277-294. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-07-2021-0145

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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