Workshop explores menstrual health barriers

In the second event of its kind, the School for Education and Communities at the University of East London (UEL) hosted a ground-breaking workshop to explore the vital intersection of menstrual health and human dignity.

The event saw experts, academics, and participants, both in-person at the University’s Stratford Campus and online, discuss the findings of research conducted in rural India and Uganda.

Work in this area aligns with the University’s research focus, underpinned by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including gender equality, access to clean water and sanitation and good health and wellbeing.

The workshop featured a presentation by UEL’s Dr Meera Tiwari, Reader in International Development Studies, who shared insights from her field research conducted in 2018-20. That explored the link between dignity and menstrual health in rural India, with the project funded by UEL’s Global Challenges Research Fund.

Her research was carried out in rural Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, regions known for high levels of multidimensional poverty and examined data from 600 women and 300 men. Her field work investigated the role of dignity, stigma and social taboos around menstrual health. This has relevance in the UK where close to 20 per cent of girls miss school because of embarrassment about their periods.

The cornerstone of Dr Tiwari's research was the development of dignity indicators, which measure, for example, the availability of menstrual materials, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, as well information and support. These have the potential to revolutionise menstrual health interventions, particularly in addressing inequalities and taboos that hinder opportunities for women and girls.

Two academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Professor Helen Weiss and Dr Guilia Greco, joined the workshop. Their extensive research on menstrual health in Uganda enriched the discussions and provided a further global perspective on the challenges faced by women in different contexts.

Dr Tiwari said after the event, 

“The workshop provided a platform to showcase the transformative potential of dignity indicators in addressing the complexities of menstrual health. By bringing together experts and collaborators, we've taken a significant step towards redefining the way menstrual health interventions are planned and implemented.

“Although there was a focus on the Global South, many of the same concerns and barriers affect women and girls in the Global North, harming their education and career progress.”

The event also highlighted the School’s collaboration with two international organisations – the Naandi Foundation in Hyderabad, India and the Radha Paudal Foundation (part of the Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation) in Nepal. They, along with the Health and Wellbeing Team at UEL, have adopted Dr Tiwari’s dignity framework for improving menstrual health outcomes.

While students benefit from free period products as part of the University’s support to reduce the impact of the cost of living, much needs to be done to normalise menstrual health as a normal bodily function.

All three partners shared their journey of co-designing the dignity indicators for their own specific contexts with Dr Tiwari and Abigail Lennox, a doctoral student supporting the study on the impact of the indicators