When 14-year-old Janani gets her period, she doesn't always make it to school. Some days, there are no sanitary pads at home, and Janani is forced to use a pad made from old clothes. On those days, she skips classes.

"I feel ashamed of using cloth," Janani told DW. "If we miss school because of this, they won't teach us again the lessons we've missed, will they?"

A survey conducted by DW of more than 500 girls across six schools in Sri Lanka's Central Province indicated that nearly half — 46% — struggled to afford pads each month, with the figure skyrocketing to 81% at one school.

Janani's mother works as a tea plucker in the hills of Nuwara Eliya District and earns about 1,350 rupees (around €4 or $4.5) per day. She buys her daughter pads when she can afford it. When she has no pads, Janani said, she wonders "why I get my period at all."

Almost half of the girls surveyed by DW said they missed school during their period for a myriad of reasons, including excessive pain. And it is affecting their school performance.

"I keep thinking about it, and so I can't study," said 14-year-old Girija referring to period poverty, a sentiment echoed by some of her peers.

Sri Lanka's government is making an effort to address the problem as its economy inches towards recovery following an........

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