REPORT ON INTERNATIONAL MEDIA FELLOWSHIP ON DIGNIFIED MENSTRUATION 2025 (TRAINING)

The Four-Day International Media Fellowship on Dignified Menstruation, held from April 16–19, 2025, in Kathmandu, Nepal, was a pivotal capacity-building initiative on Dignified Menstruation. Organized by the Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation (GSCDM), the fellowship convened 15 journalists from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Kenya. Its core objective was to train and empower media professionals with the knowledge and tools to report on Dignified Menstruation from a human rights-based perspective, transcending conventional narratives focused solely on hygiene.

The training provided a transformative and inclusive framework, addressing systemic policy gaps, pervasive menstrual discrimination, and the media's role in perpetuating menstrual discrimination. Key insights revealed the deeply entrenched nature of menstrual discrimination across participating countries, often overlooked in media coverage that predominantly focuses on products rather than broader human rights implications. Participants gained a comprehensive understanding of Dignified Menstruation as a rights-based framework, recognizing its intersectionality with gender-based violence, child marriage, SRHR, climate justice, education, and workplace.

Significant outcomes included a measurable increase in participants' knowledge, their commitment to ethical and inclusive reporting on Dignified Menstruation, and the development of actionable story ideas and reporting plans. The fellowship also successfully fostered new networks of solidarity and collaboration among media professionals, laying a foundation for sustained advocacy and campaign on Dignified Menstruation. This report details the program's purpose, methodology, key findings, and resulting recommendations, underscoring the media's critical role in advancing Dignified Menstruation globally.