Recently I read a flashy news on internet titled, ‘Girl dies during menstrual confinement.’ A 16 year old girl died in a remote village of Nepal after being buried under a landslide in a cow-shed, where she had been confined while menstruating. Such shocking news explains the inhuman treatment and ostracisation faced by women across the world during the monthly periods. In the western Nepal, girls are confined to sheds during menstruation, in a local tradition called chaupadi. This inhuman practice continues even after the Supreme Court in 2004 outlawed it, describing it as a violation of human rights.
 
 It is known that attitudes to menstruation and menstrual practices developed at menarche persist throughout life.   Though menstrual education programs are conducted in schools, the factual information that adolescent girls need is not always available to them leaving behind a large number of unanswered questions, ranged from sophisticated to poignantly ignorant, in the minds of young girls.
 
Our aim at Beyond Horizon Health and Social Circle, CHAT and nLiten is to provide a deep insight into the questions,enlighten the girls about menstrual myths and taboos and suggest strategies of adapting menstrual education sessions to fit the concern of the adolescents.
 
More than 3000 female Indian students have been a part of our program on menstrual health and hygiene. In our program,we carry a study about knowledge, attitude and practices about girls on this subject, then an introductory workshop which enhances the knowledge and doubts on the subject of menstrual health and adolescent healthy lifestyle is taught. A small booklet is distributed which is prepared by evaluating the questions asked by girls and the KAP study. This helps in reducing myths and taboos in the minds of young girls. Again after 6 weeks a post KAP study is conducted to access the level of understanding and implementation of sanitary practices taught during the workshop.

 In our studies the most popular categories of questions asked were on menstrual physiology, beauty and symptoms associated with menstruation. Can we remove eggs (ovum) out of the body, why do we get menses monthly and not yearly, why does baby grow in mother’s womb and not in any other organ like stomach, how do astronauts get menses in space, does growth in height ceases after menarche, do boys too develop pubic and axillary hair, does a girl become pregnant immediately after menarche, what is meant by sex education and STDs etc. are some of the interesting questions showing the curiosity, ignorance and misconceptions in the minds of young girls. Myths and taboos like during menses a girl shouldn’t enter kitchen, perform religious activities and touch others, a girl gets infertility if her used and disposed sanitary pad is sniffed by a snake etc. were persistent. The significant increase in the questions under beauty category from 2% (6th grades) to 39% (7th grades) depicts sudden increase in level of self consciousness and attraction towards opposite sex.
 
Questions asked by local adolescent girls should be considered by physicians and health education policy makers as the bases for designing subsequent material and programs on menstrual health education.
Puberty initiation rites heralding menarche that are celebrated in India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) should be encouraged world wide.