6. Implications
Active interventions for changing cultural beliefs about menstruation
Negative cultural norms and taboos regarding menstruation within a community can restrict young girls’ capacity for correct MHM and hygiene behaviors. Negative cultural norms surrounding menstruation lead to prejudices, such as menstruating women being viewed as unclean. Such beliefs undermine girls’ development in education, health, and mobility, and lead to incorrect gender norms being held by members of the community. It is therefore crucial to include interventions that target these negative cultural beliefs in any MHM program. Prior to the implementation of the B4G project in Zambia, this study conducted formative research to identify existing negative cultural beliefs about menstruation in the community. The study findings informed the educational aspects of the B4G project, which included activities to correct negative cultural norms as part of its general sexual and reproductive health curriculum. Unfortunately, the project did not produce the desired changes in this area. Although there was a modest positive impact on teachers and girls, negative cultural norms remained fixed among caregivers and boys. In addition, some educators delivering the project were found to only educate about negative cultural norms rather than make efforts to correct them. Individuals in their early adolescence will encounter many cultural beliefs for the first time and ponder whether or not to follow them. Early adolescence is thus a critical period when negative cultural norms for menstruation can be challenged before they are formed or solidified. The findings here show that early adolescent girls first encounter cultural norms after menstruation begins. Girls tended to raise many questions about the cultural beliefs that restricted their physical activities and normal behaviors. Moreover, compared to boys, girls experienced these negative cultural norms about menstruation as directly linked to their own lives, and so actively contemplated whether to accept them, expressing many concerns. However, while many girls doubted the legitimacy of prevailing norms, they did not seek to actively oppose what they had been taught by their caregivers. The results showed that only a few girls decided to not follow cultural beliefs. Most female caregivers surveyed showed strong beliefs and support for negative cultural norms. Girls are typically helped with menstrual issues by their female caregivers. If girls
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