Shattering Menstrual Shame in Nepal

Thank you for your donation to Days for Girls’ Shattering the Shame project through GlobalGiving.Becasue of you, we are continuing to reach some of the most vulnerable women and girls in rural Nepal. I hope you take pride in knowing what this means to thousands of women and girls. With your gift, we are able to mitigate the negative effects of a number of issues surrounding menstruation.

Our outreach in Nepal does not only involve females. With portions of your donated funds, we are also reaching out to boys with our Men Who Know curriculum. In these courses, we teach boys the menstrual cycle, anatomy, human trafficking, and how to respectfully support the women and girls in their lives. 

Most recently, our area of focus has been in the Kailali District, Sudurpashchim Province in western Nepal. Using proven strategies, the following are our goals for this region: 

1. Increase women and girls’ menstrual health knowledge through increased access to accurate and well delivered menstrual health education;
2. Positively impact women and girls menstrual experiences and confidence managing menstruation through the local production and distribution of DfG washable pad Kits;
3. Reduce stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation in the community through education awareness sessions and women’s circles and encouragement of community and peer-to-peer conversations regarding menstrual health and women's health;
4. Work with the local community to develop ways to honor religious tradition while keeping women and girls safe and respected. To shift cultural practices surrounding chhaupadi (the harmful practice where females are relegated to huts and cowsheds during menstruation) into alternate rites of passage ceremonies and customs;
5. Build local leadership and capacity on subjects including menstrual health, alternate rites of passage, and women’s health;
6. Educate men and boys on sexual reproductive health and menstruation;
7. Create job opportunities and increased livelihoods for the women residing in the Kailali area through engagement, capacity building, and support of the local DfG Social Enterprise; and 
8. Evaluate the impact of the project and learnings for the future through comprehensive monitoring, learning, and evaluation (MLE).

None of this would be possible without the support of incredible donors and partners such as yourself. Our ability to conduct life-transforming education and menstrual kit distributions is thanks to the care and compassion that you have shown. Thank you for helping us turn periods into pathways.

Namaste!