Globally, Girls Can’t Attend Schools for Lack of Hygiene Products. Christian Charities Are Helping to Solve the Problem.

Students in the U.S. take for granted that every child has the chance to get an education.

Around the world, however, millions never get this opportunity, especially young girls. While poverty and regional conflicts account for many of the reasons, a simple solution could determine whether a girl stays in or drops out of school: Hygiene. Specifically, menstrual hygiene products.

While serving in Uganda, one of us worked alongside The Dignity Project, a Christian nonprofit organization that provides reusable pads and feminine health education for women and girls living in the slums of Kampala.

These pads were more than just a product. After talking with girls from the slums, one pad could be the difference between attending school and dropping out.

In poor African homes with girls, menstruation can come with shame, isolation, and absence in the classroom. Many families simply cannot afford hygiene products each month.

In one household, a father forced the daughters to sit over dirt holes dug behind their home for the length of their cycles. This brutal act reinforces the shame that menstruation can cause, making girls feel as though they should be excluded because of a normal, female process.

This is a disheartening reality for impoverished girls in Uganda and many other parts of Africa.  

When girls are consistently absent from school during menstruation, the consequences go beyond just missed content.

These girls who miss school are likely to fall behind, eventually leading them to drop out of school entirely. Being forced into marriage due to poverty, family pressure, bride price arrangements, or tradition, teen girls are left voiceless.

According to the World Bank, “Uganda has one of the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy in the world, which is the result of both consensual and forced sex.”

Child marriage resulting in teen pregnancy remains a huge challenge. For some girls, marriage seems like an escape from the struggles and stigma surrounding menstruation. Once young girls leave school, they are exposed to a higher amount of exploitation than before.

Organizations such as The Dignity Project are changing the lives of thousands of young women.

The Project is targeting the barrier that keeps girls out of school through delivering pads and providing health education. Lillian Kirui, project coordinator of The Dignity Project in Uganda, explained in an interview, “My hopes for the future of this project is that we will continue to impact school-going girls so that they will be able to achieve their dreams and the aspirations they have for life without any restrictions.”

Motivated by the Christian call to provide human dignity to all, Lillian and her team are just one example of an organization fighting for girls to stay in school and pursue their goals without unfair restrictions.

Charitable organizations across the world recognize this problem, as well. For example, The Pad Project, founded in the U.S., has provided thousands of pads and pad-making machines to countries like Afghanistan, India, Kenya, and many others with one simple belief: “a period should end a sentence, not an education.”

No girl should lose her education because she lacks the basic hygiene products that she needs.

There are many Christian organizations providing simple acts of service that are life-changing for so many.

By helping girls remain in schools, these organizations are doing more than just offering a physical need. They are restoring dignity, broadening opportunities, and offering hope that ensures a girl’s future is not dictated by her ability to access basic hygiene products.