Image: Naznin, a hygiene promotion officer supported by CPI, outside a toilet block with a menstrual hygiene management chamber in Kutupalong Refugee Camp, Bangladesh. (Md. Dipu/CPI)
Under the cover of darkness, Yasmin* would leave her shelter to dispose of menstrual materials where no one could see her. Sometimes she buried them in the dirt. Sometimes she threw them into bushes or old drains. Managing her period in Kutupalong Refugee Camp was not just uncomfortable, it was a source of constant anxiety.
“It was a very big challenge and a struggle,” she recalls. “We had to throw things in the bushes, in old drains, or find a place to bury them in the dirt, often under the cover of night.”
Yasmin’s experience reflects a wider challenge facing Rohingya women and girls in Bangladesh. A 2022 study found that only around one in ten Rohingya adolescent girls practiced good menstrual hygiene management. Many lacked access to menstrual supplies, private facilities, safe disposal options, and reliable information. Privacy concerns, cultural taboos, and limited sanitation infrastructure often made it difficult to manage menstruation safely and with dignity.
The WHO estimates that at least 500 million women and adolescent girls worldwide face period poverty: lacking access to the materials, education, facilities and services that support menstrual health.
Supporting menstrual health for Rohingya women remains an urgent challenge in Kutupalong Refugee Camp. Women and adolescent girls make up more than half of the camp’s population, yet many continue to face barriers to managing menstruation safely and privately.
Today, Community Partners International (CPI) is helping address those barriers through a holistic approach that combines menstrual supplies, dedicated facilities, safe disposal systems, and menstrual health education delivered by Rohingya community workers.
More than improved hygiene, the programme provides dignity, confidence, protection, and peace of mind.
Menstrual health management can be particularly difficult in refugee camps. Overcrowding, limited water access, inadequate sanitation facilities, and cultural taboos often combine to create barriers for women and girls.
Naznin, a CPI Hygiene Promotion Officer supported by CPI, has witnessed these realities firsthand.
“Back then, it was very crowded,” she explains. “There was no proper space and no washrooms. Toilets were shared by both men and women.”
The challenges extended far beyond a lack of facilities. The 2022 study found that privacy was one of the most significant barriers to good menstrual hygiene management. Among girls using reusable cloths or pads, most dried them indoors because they felt uncomfortable hanging them outside where others might see them. During the rainy season, drying materials safely became even more difficult.
“There was also a cultural element — a taboo that these things should not be dried outside or seen by others,” Naznin says. “If someone passed by, women would feel shy.”
As a result, many women reused cloths that had not dried properly. Naznin explains that some women would wash cloths, store them away before they were fully dry, and then use them again the following month.
“They caused diseases and skin problems,” she says.
Zainab* has lived in the camp for almost nine years. She remembers the early days vividly.
“When we first came, it was incredibly dirty and messy everywhere,” she says.
Managing menstruation required secrecy.
“We only used old rags,” Zainab recalls. “Women had to cut up old clothes, like old shirts or traditional wear, into small pieces to use as rags. It was a massive struggle.”
Her experience mirrors broader trends identified in the research. The study found that approximately half of Rohingya adolescent girls relied on old cloths during menstruation. Many reported difficulties washing, drying, and storing reusable materials safely.
The lack of privacy made the situation even harder.
“We had to hide them and dry them inside the dark corners of our rooms where no one could look,” Zainab says. “If we had to throw them away, we would wrap them up tightly and discard them outside late at night so the men and boys wouldn’t see.”
Yasmin faced similar challenges.
“There was no privacy or secret place,” she says. “We had to hide everything and keep it a secret.”
For many women, menstruation became a monthly source of stress rather than a normal part of life.
Safe disposal of menstrual materials is often overlooked in humanitarian responses. Yet it was a significant challenge identified in Kutupalong Camp.
The 2022 study found that many girls disposed of menstrual materials in open spaces or toilets. Only a small minority reported using bins because there were so few accessible. These practices created sanitation concerns and increased pressure on already overstretched facilities.
Naznin remembers those challenges clearly.
“When there were no menstrual hygiene management facilities, most of the time women would throw the pad inside the toilet,” she says.
The result was frequent blockages that affected entire communities.
Community Partners International designed its menstrual health program to address this gap directly. Women and adolescent girls receive free disposable sanitary pads through regular distributions. At the same time, CPI has introduced dedicated menstrual hygiene management (MHM) chambers attached to bathing facilities.
Inside each chamber, women can dispose of used pads through a secure hatch connected to a disposal tank. Trained Rohingya WASH workers later manage the contents through a controlled incineration process.
“The first and most innovative feature is the disposal system itself,” Naznin explains.
The design helps solve several challenges at once. Women gain privacy. Waste remains out of sight. Toilet blockages decrease. Environmental contamination is reduced.
Most importantly, women can manage menstruation with dignity.
For both Yasmin and Zainab, the biggest change has been privacy.
“It is a huge benefit,” Yasmin says. “Now we have a private space where we can wash, dry our clothes, and use the facility comfortably whenever we need to.”
The new disposal system has also transformed daily life.
“It has made a great difference; I feel very happy and relieved,” Yasmin says. “Before, we were constantly afraid that someone would see us or that there would be a bad smell. Now, we can throw things in the box, and there is no smell and no shame.”
Zainab echoes that feeling.
“Yes, the old fear is completely gone,” she says. “We feel dignified and confident now.”
The changes extend beyond convenience.
Before, women often had to walk long distances or wait until dark to dispose of menstrual materials discreetly. Now, facilities are located close to their homes.
“It has removed a lot of tension from my life,” Yasmin explains. “Previously, I had to wake up at dawn or go very far to dispose of things so no one would see me.”
Many women previously relied on old cloths because sanitary products were unavailable or difficult to access.
The research found that reusable materials remained the most common option among Rohingya girls. However, maintaining them safely was difficult due to privacy concerns and limited washing facilities.
“Before, using old clothes was very painful and caused sores and health issues,” Yasmin says.
Zainab remembers similar experiences.
“Using old clothes was a miserable experience,” she says. “It caused severe physical discomfort, skin irritation, and made it painful to walk around.”
Today, sanitary pads provide a safer and more comfortable option.
“The pads we get now are much more comfortable, hygienic, and they don’t cause the same physical pain,” Yasmin says.
For Naznin, these improvements reflect broader gains in women’s health.
“It improves health considerably,” she says. “Skin diseases that used to happen often are now less frequent.”
Infrastructure alone cannot solve menstrual health challenges.
The same study found that fewer than one-third of girls had any knowledge of menstruation before experiencing their first period. Researchers concluded that access to information and education was just as important as access to menstrual products.
That is why CPI-supported Rohingya hygiene promotion and sexual and reproductive health workers regularly visit women and girls in their communities.
Through door-to-door visits and group discussions, they share practical information about menstrual health and hygiene.
These sessions help break long-standing taboos.
“There are meetings and education sessions where we discuss hygiene and how to keep ourselves clean,” Yasmin says. “Before these meetings started, we couldn’t share these problems with anyone.”
The impact reaches beyond individual participants.
“I feel much more confident,” Yasmin says. “I used to worry every month, but now that I have learned how to handle it properly, that fear and tension are gone.”
According to Naznin, community trust plays a vital role.
“When many women get together and discuss, sharing their own problems, they benefit a great deal from each other,” she explains.
As women gain knowledge, they also begin passing it on.
“Yes, I teach my daughters what I have learned,” Yasmin says. “I want them to be aware so they don’t have to suffer through the same pain and difficulties that I did.”
The benefits of supporting menstrual health for Rohingya women extend far beyond a single monthly need.
They help adolescent girls participate more confidently in daily life. They support women’s health and strengthen dignity and protection.
Naznin has observed this change throughout the community.
“Young women are growing up knowing everything, and their confidence is higher too,” she says. “They know how to maintain menstrual hygiene. Their confidence has grown enormously.”
For Zainab, the difference is clear.
“We can move around the camp comfortably without anxiety,” she says. “Before, it was a massive hurdle. These pads and facilities have brought great relief. They have solved a big problem.”
Researchers studying menstrual health among Rohingya adolescent girls concluded that improving access to menstrual supplies, privacy, information, and appropriate WASH facilities is essential in humanitarian settings.
CPI’s approach brings those elements together through sanitary pad distribution, private menstrual hygiene chambers, safe disposal systems, and community-based menstrual health education delivered by Rohingya workers themselves.
Important challenges remain. Demand continues to outpace available facilities in some areas. Water access remains inconsistent in certain locations. Additional menstrual hygiene chambers are still needed.
Yet the progress is undeniable.
CPI has built or upgraded 112 menstrual hygiene management chambers across its operational areas in Kutupalong Camp. Each facility represents more than a physical structure. It represents safety, privacy, and dignity for the women and girls who use it.
For Yasmin, the impact can be measured in something simple but powerful.
“I have learned how to handle it properly,” she says. “That fear and tension are gone.”
For thousands of Rohingya women and girls, that change is helping transform everyday life.
*Names changed to protect privacy.
Community Partners International (CPI) strengthens, equips and connects local organizations in Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand providing health and humanitarian services to conflict- and poverty-affected communities.
Support our mission: https://cpintl.org/ways-to-give/give
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