Local Solution: Keeping girls in school in Tanzania

In Tanzania, 5% of girls are married before the age of 15, and nearly 30% are married by 18.

Rates are even higher - over 37% - in rural areas like Muleba District, where many families rely on livestock for their livelihoods. In these communities, girls often have little opportunity to shape their own futures. Cultural norms and financial pressures continue to influence attitudes towards girls’ education, with many families viewing marriage, rather than education, as a girl’s best opportunity for the future.

For the girls who do make it to school, new challenges often arise when they reach puberty.

Cultural beliefs and taboos around menstruation cause many to face social exclusion and even bullying from family at home and peers at school. They also often find little understanding from their teachers.

“I used to think menstruation was something only for women to deal with,” admits Mr Peter, a teacher at Mashekuro Primary School. “I never imagined it was something I needed to understand as a teacher.”

But without support or access to sanitary products at home or school, girls often miss lessons during their periods, causing them to fall behind. Many use improvised materials such as rags, leaves and even mud, rather than ask for help.

Changing perspectives through training

Egmont Partner Kwa Wazee is helping to break these barriers by training teachers from schools in Muleba on menstrual hygiene and providing schools with sanitary pads so that girls can attend school with confidence and dignity.

“I learned it is not a matter to be ashamed of nor a reason to stop a child from going to school.” Says Mr Rajabu, also from Mashekuro Primary, where all teachers are male.

Mr Peter and Mr Rajabu have been trained by Kwa Wazee along with 26 other teachers across 12 schools. The two-day menstrual hygiene training used games, role-play, and open discussions to break taboos and change perceptions.

“We now see sanitary pads the same way we see school uniforms - they’re essential. No girl should have to miss school just because she’s on her period,” Mr. Peter adds.

Mr Peter and Mr Rajabu now educate both boys and girls in their school about menstrual hygiene, provide pads when needed, and encourage respectful behaviour among boys. They have also trained their colleagues so that all staff can offer support.

In schools with few or no female staff, the role of male teachers is even more crucial, as Mr Rajabu highlights:

“Sometimes, we are the only adults girls can turn to. If we’re ignorant, we leave them isolated. But if we’re informed, we can protect and empower them.”

Acknowledging that some girls may find it difficult to ask a male teacher for help, Mr Peter and Mr Rajabu have introduced class representatives that girls can go to, as well as a special phrase to indicate they need a sanitary pad confidentially and without embarrassment.

“Now the girls learn with confidence,” says Mr Peter. “Even if she has an emergency, she knows she will be assisted right there at school.”

Menstruation: no longer a barrier to learning

The changes are working. Across participating schools, 800 girls have been supported with sanitary products, and absenteeism due to menstruation has fallen from 30–40% to just 5–10%. Eighty five percent of girls report reduced fear of discrimination, and boys are even stepping up to support their classmates.

Combining a simple, low-cost solution - the provision of sanitary products - with teacher training has far reaching effects. Educating girls yields benefits that extend beyond themselves to their families and communities. It enables them to develop the skills to earn money for their households, the life skills to navigate a changing world and contribute to their communities. Educated women are also more informed about nutrition and healthcare; the child of a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five.

Thanks to Kwa Wazee’s training, menstruation is no longer a barrier to education and male teachers and students have become girls’ active allies.

To reinforce this progress, Kwa Wazee is extending awareness campaigns to parents and other community members, reaching 3,000 people so far. A further eight teachers are also being trained at schools in Muleba.