Identifying menstrual deficit: A feminist analysis of Bangladesh's national menstrual hygiene management strategy 2021

Abstract

Historically, males have dominated the policy domain, and women have held more direct practice roles; therefore, male analysts do not use a gender lens in formulating a policy or strategy paper. Similarly, the Bangladesh government, with a working group predominantly composed of men, created the National Menstrual Hygiene Management Strategy 2021 for the first time to ensure that "no girl or woman is left behind" in exercising their fundamental rights. This study's goal, from a feminist perspective, was to evaluate the extent to which the government has overcome patriarchal restraints in the development of eight strategies for menstruation. Following the qualitative approach, we used the desk research method to review the strategy. This analysis shows that the strategy refollows patriarchal norms resulting in menstruation being considered a social phenomenon rather than a biological phenomenon.