Fathers to be there for daughters during menstruation: A friendly guideline

Fathers create a safe space for their children, whether their son or daughter.  Fathers are always there to support you and be the strength you ask for it or not. Just like a son, a daughter has got the same access. 

Still, girls are barely seen sharing their crisis moments with their fathers. In the context of Bangladesh father-daughter relationship mostly has an invisible wall. Due to their conservative nature, girls detach themselves from their fathers once they enter puberty. Talking about their body changes, and physical and mental health or period is okay when sharing with mothers, elder sisters, and aunts but not fathers.

Due to ingrained cultural conventions, stigma, and shame, young girls and their fathers do not typically discuss periods with their daughters too. This promotes the notion that having periods is something to be embarrassed of. But is it really? No. 

Acknowledging the issue,  funded by Share-Net International and supervised by Share-Net Bangladesh, Wreetu developed a handbook and video series to normalize conversations about periods between Dads and their daughters in order to end this and shatter the generational norm of period stigma. 

The handbook is a friendly guideline for fathers. It contains what menstruation is, how to know the change in a daughter during menstruation, what must be shared between fathers and daughters, negative effects of a distant relationship between dad and daughters, materials, dos and don’ts of menstruation and others. 

Likewise, the videos contain the significance of bonding between father-daughter through menstruation days, the psychological change, menstruation management and others. 

Studies have shown that “A beautiful bond between a dad and daughter has a lasting and positive effect on the emotional development of the daughter. The stress management skills of a daughter also depend on what kind of relationship they have with their fathers during their childhood.” 

The handbook is easily available in English and Bangla language online. The exciting news is Wreetu is bringing the product soon in a printed version for easy reading. This was funded by Share-Net International and Youth Hub.  

For now, download the Booklet or watch the series, this Father’s Day! 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1N1aCFWrU-2KfojFtdbh1UvFd_wDUW40G?usp=sharing 

Watch the Series:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HtTjAEc81MmS3B1_ZdUT845HcGWXIonJ?usp=sharing