“All I was told is that I’m not clean, I’m impure”: Understanding Muslim Women’s Experience of Menstrual Education

Paper Title

'All I was told is that I'm not clean, I'm impure': Understanding Muslim Women's Experience of Menstrual Education

Publication Info

• Topic area: Intersection of religion, health, and human-computer interaction (HCI) in menstrual education.
• Keywords: Menstrual education, Muslim women, religious upbringing, menarche, HCI, menstrual technologies, Islamic values, socio-religious support, ARC method, menstrual health.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Limited understanding of how early menstrual education is shaped by religious upbringing, rulings, and values, particularly within the Muslim community. Existing HCI scholarship has not adequately explored how Muslim women acquire menstrual knowledge and navigate religious dimensions in their practices.
• Significance: Menstrual education profoundly impacts religious participation, health management, and identity formation for Muslim women. Addressing this gap can inform the design of technologies that support religiously aligned menstrual education and care.
• Motivation and related work: Prior studies have examined menstrual tracking apps, intimate health practices, and cultural influences on menstruation, but they lack focus on religious education and its integration into menstrual technologies. This paper builds on these efforts by investigating how religious upbringing shapes menstrual education and proposing design implications for tailored technologies.

Solution

• Proposed approach: A 10-week study using the Asynchronous Remote Communities (ARC) method to explore how 14 menstruating cisgender Muslim women in the US navigate menstrual education and envision technology to support religiously aligned care.
• Novelty:
  1. Empirical insights into how religious teachings and family dynamics shape menarche preparation and menstrual education.
  2. Exploration of tensions in menstrual education when intersecting with religious beliefs.
  3. Design concepts for technologies that integrate health and religious guidance, including AI-powered tools and community-based support systems.
  4. Recommendations for fostering menarche education and building a religiously aligned menstrual information ecosystem.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Deployment of ARC method via a private Facebook group.
  • Weekly activities including surveys, scenario-based prompts, design tasks, and prototype testing.
  • Analysis using reflective thematic analysis and inductive coding to identify themes related to menstrual education and care.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Mothers and female relatives play a pivotal role in transmitting foundational menstrual knowledge through storytelling and Islamic teachings.
  • Participants refine their early knowledge through self-learning, online resources, and consultations with medical professionals and Islamic scholars.
  • Social and religious support networks, including online communities and halaqa groups, are essential for navigating menstrual challenges.
• Advantage over baselines: The study uniquely integrates religious, cultural, and technological dimensions to address gaps in menstrual education and care for Muslim women, providing actionable insights for HCI design.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Participants engaged in 15 activities over 10 weeks, including design tasks envisioning technologies such as mobile apps, VR, smartwatches, and AI-powered tools.
  • Evaluation of prototype designs and feedback on usability and alignment with religious values.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Potential recall bias in participants’ reflections on menarche.
  • Skewed participant pool due to reliance on Facebook for recruitment.
  • Future research should include adolescents actively experiencing menarche and explore alternative platforms for broader engagement.

Summary

This study investigates how Muslim women acquire menstrual knowledge and navigate religious dimensions in their practices, revealing the critical role of early education, self-learning, and support networks. Participants envision technologies that integrate medical expertise, religious guidance, and community support, emphasizing holistic care tailored to their unique needs. Findings highlight the importance of designing socio-religious technologies that foster menarche education and build a robust menstrual information ecosystem. Future work should expand participant demographics and explore ethical considerations in AI-powered tools for sensitive contexts.