• Every day approximately 290000 women and girls in Nepal menstruate!! 
• 82% of Nepali women living in rural Nepal, use of unhygienic, un‐healthy and possibly dangerous menstrual hygiene management methods push Nepali women deeper into the crevice of marginalization and reproductive health morbidity. 
• Young adolescent girls constitute a particularly vulnerable group. Studies have shown that adolescent girls often lack appropriate information about their reproductive health and proper menstrual management which has a direct impact upon adolescent girl’s schooling, with absenteeism of menstruating girls as high as 53% in Nepal.
• This frequent absence from school implies an average annual absence of at least six weeks from school directly affecting girl’s academic progress.
• Unsatisfactory academic progress coupled with the societal belief that girls who have started menstruating are eligible for marriage, contributes to high dropout rates from school and early marriage, which itself is a risk factor preventing optimum reproductive health, birthing practices, birth spacing and healthy children. 

Source of Info : Nepal Fertility Care Center(NFCC) 

Why Menstrual Hygiene Matters ? 

• Educating girls about menstruation helps increase self esteem, raise grades and raise wages. 
• Learning about menstruation empowers girls to take care of themselves in brand new ways.
• Learning and understanding what menstrual hygiene options exist for them gives girls the opportunity to choose what solution is best for them.
• It gives girls and women confidence to live their lives normally.
• Talking about men
  strual hygiene before menarche (the first period) is very important for ensuring that girls know how to handle the often scary first period. 
• Understanding how tampons, menstrual cups, or other sanitary materials work allows girls to explore their bodies in new and important ways.’
• Proper menstrual hygiene keeps girls in school.
• Access to menstrual hygiene products keep girls on the same track as their male peers.
• It keeps women at work, contributing to economic development. 
• Educating girls and women about feminine hygiene and biology helps to bust myths and cultural superstitions.
• Access to correct information about hygiene and adequate sanitary materials enables women to feel more confident and comfortable with their bodies. 
• Debunking myths and taboos can keep girls and women safe. (Chaupadi)
• It helps women realize that they are not impure.
• Educating men and boys about menstruation can help men develop higher levels of understanding of women and girls’ bodies and needs.
• Learning about menstrual hygiene management helps ensure cleanliness. 
• Knowing what product or material to use, how often to change it, and having access to WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) facilities helps girls and women maintain good hygiene while menstruating. 
• It helps keep Bacterial Vaginosis (bacterial vaginal infections) away, It can help prevent girls and women from getting toxic shock syndrome (TSS) 
• It helps reduce the likelihood of getting cervical cancer. 

According to the World Health Organization, India accounts for 27 percent of the world’s cervical cancer deaths. The incidence rate there is almost twice the global average and doctors studying the disease believe poor menstrual hygiene is partly to blame.

• Using reusable menstrual hygiene products like menstrual cups and reusable pads can help reduce waste in the environment. It is estimated that nearly 20 billion pads and tampons are discarded every year in North America alone. 

Sustainable Goals and Menstrual Hygiene 

• https://girlsglobe.org/2014/05/28/28‐reasons‐why‐menstrual‐hygiene‐matters/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cycle
• http://menstrualhygieneday.org/ 
• http://www.newlovetimes.com/chhaupadi‐pratha