The many meanings of menstruation: Practices, imaginaries and access to water and sanitation infrastructure in Lusaka, Zambia

The menstrual lives of young women in the Global South have emerged as topics of interest among development agencies, leading to the implementation of Menstrual Hygiene Management programmes in schools. With these programmes as backdrop, this chapter considers young women's menarche and menstruation experiences and practices. It is based on photovoice research with a group of 22 students living and studying in George and Chawama, two of the fastest growing neighborhoods of Lusaka, Zambia. It engages with the work of feminist geographers to argue that students and their mothers navigate uncertain and precarious everyday realities. This chapter increases understanding of challenges and expectations related to menarche and menstruation by looking through the eyes of students themselves and exploring their contexts and views. It contributes to the field of critical menstruation studies, which has highlighted how Menstrual Hygiene Management tends to feed imaginaries of women and girls of the Global South as unable to manage their own monthly blood, disregarding their traditional menstrual practices, cultures and socio-economic contexts.