Puberty rituals, reproductive knowledge and health of adolescent schoolgirls in South India

In India, programmes and research concerned with women’s health until very recently have focused mainly on the reproductive functions of married women. The recent paradigm shift in the Government’s primary health programme was intended to increase the attention given to gynaecological problems and other aspects of women’s health. Nonetheless, the attention given to the health problems of adolescent girls is still meagre, even though adolescence is a time when looking after health and nutrition can help to build a buffer against the heavy physical demands of the reproductive years. High rates of gynaecological morbidity have been reported in rural populations, adolescents included (Bang and others, 1989; Koenig and others, 1998). However, the health knowledge and problems of adolescents have so far received only minimal attention (Koblinsky and others, 1993).