Sociological Analysis on Menstruation Perception amongst Tribes of Madhya Pradesh

Sociologically the menstrual health and hygiene management is both mental and health issue. Recently the menstruation has become a national focus with the sanitary pad campaign #End period shame. Therefore, to know the awareness levels, the tribals of Jhabua (M.P) were selected as primary study population. The primary objective was to identify the perception among two predominant tribal groups (Bhils & Bhilalas) regarding menstruation awareness. Then the socio-physical challenges were explored which was observed by girls during menstrual hygiene management and suggestions were provide based on field-observation and respondent’s feedback. The interview-schedule method was used to include 25 respondents through convenient-sampling considering the pandemic situation. The main findings revealed from the study are: – 1) There is no significant impact of mother’s education on girl’s menstrual health management awareness. 2) The religious restrictions are still prominent and 3) The majority of girls reacted with fear towards the first menstruation experience. The Bhilala tribal community is more aware than the Bhil tribe in terms of menstruation & menopause knowledge.