The nexus between modern sanitary wear, accessibility as a basic need and girls academic performance at Mathebe High School in Mafeteng District, Lesotho
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National University of Lesotho
Abstract
This study sought to investigate the nexus between modern sanitary wear accessibility as a basic
need and girls’ academic performance at Mathebe High School. The main objectives were to
explore the relationship between modern sanitary wear accessibility as a basic need and girls’
academic achievement at Mathebe High School; examine the forms of sanitary wear available to
girls at Mathebe High School and explore recommendations that could be made to improve the
situation for girls at Mathebe high School. The qualitative research method was used to provide
information for the study. The design was a good fit for the target population and the sample,
which consisted of people from the same school as the case study. FGIs were used in data
collection for this study. The empirical investigation was carried out on three consecutive days:
firstly, with girls in Form D and E, secondly with girls in Form D and E grouped together to
form one group and boys in Form D and E grouped together to form one group. Finally, the
teachers formed a focus group. Thirty six individuals were sampled for this study. Thirty two out
of eighty students from Form D and E were sampled for focus group interviews as respondents
and four teachers out of ten were sampled focus group interview as respondents. The study
established that a lot of girls of age group 15-20 year old at Mathebe High School experienced
their first menses without knowledge of what was happening to them. In the past five years, more
girls have taken International General Certificate of Secondary Education (LGCSE) examinations than
boys at Mathebe high school. Although the enrolment of girls who appeared for LGCSE was high, they
performed poorly compared to the boys as most girls face many challenges such as truancy, being late at
school, lack of concentration and participation in school activities and get bad grades and get less
education than boys. This happens due to the inaccessibility to modern sanitary wear for menstruating
girls at Mathebe High School as the monthly cost of modern sanitary wear particularly sanitary
pads proved too high for many girls. Also at Mathebe High School, a gender gap in education
between boys and girls is reported to exist due to the ill-treatment menstruating girls get from
their parents and teachers as menstruation is still a taboo linked to stigma and discrimination
against menstruating girls and women. Among other recommendations, the study recommends
that schools should provide reliable information about menstruation by hiring a professional
health counsellor to encourage changes in behaviour and practice; the government needs to
implement and enforce policies that reduce the high cost of modern sanitary wear because
menstruation is not an option and no one can go without menstruation. As a result, the high cost
limits access to modern sanitary wear for needy and vulnerable school girls in the country.