KATHMANDU, 28 MAY 2025: Girls in Nepal say they are spending more time at school when they have their period after Save the Children helped set up free pad vending machines in their schools.
More than half of girls surveyed in Nepal by Save the Children in 2022 said they missed school either always or sometimes during their period, with 18% not attending classes for the whole duration of their menstruation. More than a third of girls said they were worried ‘a lot’ about the disposal of used sanitary products at school [1]. In Nepal, nearly one in five schools in does not have toilets, forcing children to use open spaces near their classrooms [2].
Girls are often reluctant to ask family members to buy pads for them and hesitant to buy them in person from shops in their villages. With Save the Children’s support, nearly 5,000 schoolgirls now have private access to free pad vending machines in 13 schools, with girls given smart cards to use the ATM-like dispensers which are located in female toilets.
Nirmala, 14, is in the eighth grade at school in Madhesh province in southeastern Nepal. Before the vending machines, she had to ask teachers for pads. She said:
"Now I can easily get a sanitary pad from the vending machine whenever I need it by simply inserting the card. My friends also use the machine at school with ease. It doesn’t feel uncomfortable [asking] like it was before."
Her teacher, Niroj, said:
“Before this vending machine was installed, many girls missed about four days of school every month, now the girl students have access to pads every day. It has become kind of normal. Now they are regularly attending their classes.”
Save the Children is also training and supporting young female entrepreneurs in Nepal who have set up a pad making factory which now reaches 11 municipalities in Dailekh district in Karnali province. The locally made pads provide an affordable alternative to imported products, as well as creating jobs for women that previously didn’t have any independent income. The young businesswomen have also been training adolescents to make reusable pads at home with cloth, helping to ensure wider access to menstrual hygiene products for more girls in this remote region.
Globally, about 15% of girls miss school during their period, according to the UN. Only one in three schools have bins for menstrual waste, with just two out of five schools providing education in menstrual health [3]. An estimated 500 million girls and women lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management [4].
Girls in Nepal are trying to break entrenched taboos around menstruation. The practice of exiling menstruating girls and women to sheds – known as Chhaupadi – is still used in some parts of Nepal, despite a national law imposing fines or jail sentences for menstrual discrimination [5]. Pads cost around USD $2 per pack, and like in other countries, girls and women are campaigning for the government to drop sales taxes on sanitary products, many of which are imported.
Tara Chettry, Country Director, Save the Children in Nepal said:
“When schools lack proper toilets, washing facilities, and safe disposal bins for pads, girls are forced to choose between their dignity and their education. Many struggle to concentrate, some stop coming altogether. No girl should miss class because of her period.
It’s time to break all social stigmas around menstruation and end discrimination. By making pads freely available in schools and encouraging the growth of start-ups producing locally made sanitary products, local authorities can send a much-needed message that girls need to hear.
The government in Nepal must take period parity seriously. Access to menstrual hygiene supplies is a basic right, and no girl should be burdened or punished for experiencing something as natural as their period."
Save the Children has worked in Nepal since 1976. The child rights organisation runs programmes spanning child protection, child rights governance, education, climate change, gender equality, health and nutrition and child poverty.
Notes to Editors:
[1] https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/document/the-effects-of-menstrual-hygiene-management-mhm-education-on-girls-participation-self-efficacy-and-stress-in-nepal/ In aggregate, 55.6% of the girls reported being absent from school either always or sometimes during their period. A total of 17.8% of the girls reported not attending school at all for the entire length of menstruation.
[3] https://www.unwater.org/news/menstrual-hygiene-day-2025-bridging-gaps-dignity-data-and-investment
[4] https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water/brief/menstrual-health-and-hygiene
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Rachel Thompson, Media Manager, Asia rachel.thompson@savethechildren.org
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