Menstruation is a cause of school absenteeism among young girls in Senegal

Distribution of sanitary pads to high school girls to combat school absenteeism caused by menstruation.

Esther Nyacke Ntah

Community Manager and ambassador WWO, French-speaking Africa Zone

In Senegal, young girls are often forced to miss school during their menstrual periods. These absences are not voluntary, so we spoke with Marie-Angèle Diatta, a teacher of Portuguese at the Lycée de Djinabo, to understand why. Mme Marie-Angèle Diatta, née Paraiso, was selected for this interview because she is also a member of the Diocesan Union of Ziguinchor. This Union distributed packs of sanitary towels to the girls at Djinabo High School on the eve of International Women’s Day in 2025.

Mrs Marie-Angèle Diatta Paraiso, you were President of the Union of Catholic Women's Associations of Ziguinchor. You are currently in charge of Heritage and Economic Affairs for this Union, which is a member of the Coordination des Unions des Associations Féminines Catholiques du Sénégal (Cudafcs). Your group has just celebrated International Women's Day under the theme: "To hope against all hope". Do you think you brought a note of hope to the women of your Diocese during these festivities on 8 March 2025?

On 8 March 2025, we got together to discuss the theme: "Hope against all hope". It was a day of sharing. We began with a talk by Abbé Alain Diédhiou, followed by sharing in small groups. The women greatly appreciated the day, as it gave them an opportunity to truly listen to one another. After the Abbot’s enlightening talk, they shared their experiences and struggles — and, most importantly, they learned from each other. They truly wished for this kind of gathering to happen more often, so that they could not only share their pain and difficulties — which in itself brings relief- but also learn from others. Learning from others is no small thing, and they deeply valued that. They said that if such meetings were held more frequently, many of their difficulties might be easier to overcome.

During this celebration of International Women's Rights Day, one of the activities you carried out was the distribution of sanitary towels to girls at Djinabo high school. You mentioned that your donation helps fight absenteeism and school dropout among these high school girls. Why does menstruation pose a barrier to their education?

As part of the commemoration of Women's Rights Day on 7 March 2025, we donated sanitary towels to the Lycée de Djinabo in Ziguinchor. We made this gesture, especially to provide disadvantaged girls who can't afford to buy packs of sanitary towels. A pack of sanitary towels costs around one and a half euros in Senegal - depending on the quality. So not everyone can afford to buy them every month. Those who cannot afford sanitary pads often resort to using cloth, which is usually not very absorbent. As a result of long hours in class or heavy menstrual flow, they often get stained. They then have to leave school and go home to change, because they have not supplies available at school. When they leave and return, they face the problem of having to justify their absence.

The school administration asks for a medical certificate to prove that they were ill. But since their absence wasn’t due to illness, they can’t provide one. As a result, they end up accumulating unexcused absences. It should be noted that when students accumulate 20 hours of absence in a semester, they are expelled whether they are boys or girls. So you can understand that everything becomes complicated for these girls. If a girl has to be absent for one or two hours each month, by the end of the semester she will easily have accumulated 20 hours of absence, which means she will be expelled. In view of all these problems, we said to ourselves, within our circle that we had to take action, while waiting to put more pressure on school legislation and to discuss with them how to address the issue of absences due to menstruation among young girls. To that end, making sanitary pads available to them at school means allowing them to use them when needed. When the need arises, they go to the school supervisor, and a pack is given to them that will last for the month. This is our way of reducing the absenteeism rate among these young girls, which can have an impact on their schooling.

Is this disruption of girls' schooling specific to the girls at Djinabo high school or is it a problem that concerns all young Senegalese girls? If so, what is the cause of this phenomenon?

This problem is not specific to the lycée in Djinabo. It can be found in many schools. When we shared the images of these donation handovers in our various WhatsApp groups, many women reached out to us. They asked us what they could do in the schools in their own villages or communities. We replied that we could only act according to the resources we have. If means permit, we could also extend some gestures to them. We believe that this problem is primarily economic in nature. It affects underprivileged girls who cannot afford proper sanitary pads during their menstrual periods. There is also a cultural burden that makes things even harder for these young girls. Although attitudes have changed somewhat, there is still the taboo that a menstruating woman or girl is impure. So it's not easy for them, especially when they don't have the means to really manage these moments of intimacy.

Your Union is a member of WUCWO, and therefore a member of the World Women´s Observatory (WWO). As you know, the WWO advocates to give visibility to women who are victims of violence. Do you think that the disruption of school attendance among young girls due to menstruation can be considered as a situation of violence? If so, what type of violence is it?

Absenteeism due to a girl's menstrual problem is, in my opinion, a form of psychological violence. In the sense that, psychologically, these girls from disadvantaged backgrounds are not at peace as their menstrual cycle approaches. Because they know that they won't have adequate sanitary protection during these times, and that they might have to leave school to avoid staining themselves. While they're outside, classes continue without interruption. From this point of view, I can say that this is a form of discrimination, not only are they not given time to catch up, but they also lack proper justification for their absences. Instead, they are asked to provide a medical certificate. And if they can’t, their absences are marked as unexcused, which then accumulate over time. This leads us to say that, in addition to being psychological violence, menstruation-related absences are also a form of discrimination- Because they are not conducive to good schooling for young girls. Therefore, helping girls access sanitary pads can be a way to keep them in school — a way to prevent them from missing class due to menstruation.

Would it be possible to find a permanent solution to this situation?

The Ziguinchor Union would like to continue this gesture of solidarity and support for disadvantaged girls for as long as its resources allow. This is one way our movement can help ensure that young girls receive a proper education, particularly by combating absenteeism linked to the menstrual cycle. In line with this goal, the Union has reached out to people of goodwill who may be able to help with the purchase of sanitary pads, which would allow us to support a larger number of girls. We also plan to ask the Coordination des Unions des Associations Féminines Catholiques du Sénégal (Cudafcs) to organise this kind of action in each Diocesan Union, especially in rural areas. This will enable us to work in synergy to reach a vast number of rural and peri-urban areas where the lack of resources is even more acute.