AI Insight
This qualitative study examined menstrual experiences of 18 women and adolescent girls living in urban informal settlements in Khulna, Bangladesh. The research identified three major barriers to safe menstrual health management: structural-environmental constraints including inadequate sanitation facilities and lack of affordable menstrual products, socio-cultural stigma that reinforces shame and exclusion, and gendered inequities that limit women's autonomy and access to resources. The findings demonstrate that menstruation in resource-poor urban settings is shaped by the intersection of inadequate infrastructure, cultural taboos, and gender-based discrimination.
Why it matters
This research highlights that improving menstrual health in urban informal settlements requires coordinated interventions addressing infrastructure deficits, cultural norms, and gender inequality rather than isolated product-distribution approaches. The findings can inform public health policies and urban planning strategies to ensure dignified menstrual health management for marginalized women in similar settings globally.
Understand the Science
by Marufa Alam, Md. Al-Mamun
Background
Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) is a critical component of public health and gender equity. However, limited research has explored the everyday experiences of women and adolescent girls managing menstruation within the constrained environment of urban informal settlements. This study explores the lived experiences of menstruation among women and girls in the Khulna Railway Slum in Bangladesh.
Methods
Guided by a Feminist Political Ecology framework, this qualitative study employed a combined inductive and deductive thematic approach. Data were collected between September and October 2025 through in-depth interviews with 18 women and adolescent girls aged 15–45 years living in urban informal settlements in Khulna. Five key informant interviews were also conducted with relevant stakeholders. Data were analyzed thematically using both pre-defined conceptual domains and emergent codes.
Findings
Findings revealed that menstrual experiences are shaped by three interrelated conceptual domains: structural-environmental constraints, socio-cultural stigma, and gendered inequities in access to resources. Inadequate WASH facilities, poor waste management, and lack of affordable menstrual products hinder safe and dignified menstrual practices. Stigma and taboos reinforced shame, exclusion, and silence, while gendered inequalities limited autonomy and resource access, especially among adolescents.
Conclusion
The study highlights menstruation as a socially and structurally shaped experience influenced by infrastructural constraints, cultural norms, and gendered inequalities. It contributes to scholarship on menstrual health by emphasizing the need to address menstrual inequities as part of broader efforts to improve gender equity and WASH services in urban informal settlement.