Menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) is a critical component of public health and gender equity, yet limited research has explored the everyday experiences of women and adolescent girls managing menstruation within the constrained environment of urban informal settlements. This study explores the lived experiences of menstruation among women and girls in the Khulna Railway Slum in Bangladesh. Guided by a Feminist Political Ecology framework, the qualitative study employed a combined inductive and deductive thematic approach, and data were collected between September and October 2025 through in-depth interviews with 18 women and adolescent girls aged 15–45 years living in urban informal settlements in Khulna, alongside five key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders. Data were analyzed thematically using both pre-defined conceptual domains and emergent codes. Findings revealed that menstrual experiences are shaped by three interrelated conceptual domains, namely structural-environmental constraints, socio-cultural stigma, and gendered inequities in access to resources. Inadequate WASH facilities, poor waste management, and a lack of affordable menstrual products hinder safe and dignified menstrual practices, while stigma and taboos reinforce shame, exclusion, and silence, and gendered inequalities limit autonomy and resource access, especially among adolescents. The study highlights menstruation as a socially and structurally shaped experience influenced by infrastructural constraints, cultural norms, and gendered inequalities, and it contributes to scholarship on menstrual health by emphasizing the need to address menstrual inequities as part of broader efforts to improve gender equity and WASH services in urban informal settlements.
Authors: Alam, Marufa and Al-Mamun, Md.
Type: Journal Article
Publisher: PLOS One
Year: 2026
