Transforming Attitudes Towards Gender and Health: Ruth’s Story

The classroom buzzes with energy as Ruth moderates a debate: “Should boys and girls receive equal treatment?” A boy argues, “We are future leaders!” while a girl counters, “Why can’t we share roles?”

Just a year ago, these students would not even sit together—boys occupied one side of the classroom, girls the other.

In Buyende, in eastern Uganda, strict gender roles govern many classrooms and homes. Girls avoid speaking up in class. Boys dismiss their contributions. Teachers like Ruth resort to relying on rigid discipline to maintain order. “Parents leave children’s education to teachers. Pupils fear making mistakes in class,” says Ruth. Topics like puberty, menstruation, and reproductive health are very taboo.

But things have recently changed in the school where Ruth teaches. Boys and girls are participating more equally in the classroom, parents are challenging taboos around health and gender topics, and teachers feel more empowered to deliver engaging and relevant lessons to students.

Breaking Down Barriers

Ruth has always cared deeply for her students. But managing her large classroom of students with limited resources and helping them perform well academically is tough. Add to that, the challenge of helping boys and girls to understand the changes that are happening in their bodies and how to talk about and navigate them—it often felt like too much.

“Parents left children’s education to teachers,” she recalls. “Children were fearful. Boys and girls sat apart.”

Seven years into her teaching career, Ruth was invited to join teacher training that was offered as part of the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) program. Funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada, the SHARE program advances gender equality by improving access to sexual and reproductive health education and gender-responsive health care for young people, especially adolescent girls and young women, in Ghana, Mozambique and Uganda. It is implemented by Right To Play, FAWE, WaterAid, and FHI360.

In Uganda, the program is creating safe spaces for open conversations around puberty, menstruation and other Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) topics by engaging teachers, parents and young people. Through training, teachers like Ruth have learned how to use play-based learning to make lessons more engaging, make the classroom more inclusive for all students, and teach life skills like trust and communication—topics she knows are critical for her students’ futures.

Parents, too, have been empowered to speak more openly with their children about sensitive topics, especially menstrual hygiene, which many previously found difficult to discuss.

The training also gave Ruth practical approaches for how to integrate comprehensive sexual education topics into her lessons and break down taboos around gender, menstruation, and other topics. “Before the training, many girls would miss school for the first three days of their period. They faced shame, and some would even drop out entirely,” says Ruth.

Many families in Buyende struggle to afford menstrual hygiene products for their daughters, so Ruth also taught both girls and boys in her class how to make reusable menstrual pads. This offered a practical and empowering solution for girls whose families could not afford them. Soon, Ruth started noticing that fewer girls were missing class every month. “I gathered my girls and boys too, because boys should know—they have sisters at home, they have mothers, and one day they will become fathers who need to provide these things,” she says.

Ruth teaches these and other topics using play-based activities that make them fun, inclusive, and non-threatening—and help the students better retain the information. “I use drama and music to teach because it is a very good technique for the child not to forget what she has learned,” says Ruth. “When you teach using play, they do not forget because it is fun.”

Parent and caregiver awareness sessions have helped parents better understand how they can support their sons’ and daughters’ education and development. Where parents once feared discussing “adult topics” with their children, families now have honest conversations about development, health and rights.

“Before, they would send six-year-olds alone to school,” remembers Ruth. “Now they escort children, provide books, and attend workshops. One father told me, ‘How I wish my wife was here to learn about how we can both talk openly with our daughter.’”

Since SHARE started, 78% of teachers have adopted play-based teaching methods, a remarkable increase from just 9% previously. Perhaps most significantly, Ruth’s school reported zero pregnancies or child marriages in the past year, demonstrating how comprehensive sexual health education empowers students to make informed decisions about their futures. The cultural transformation extends to male students as well, with boys now actively supporting girls’ education and participating in once-taboo conversations about menstruation openly and respectfully, breaking down harmful stigmas that previously kept girls out of school during their periods.

Namutoni: Finding Her Voice

Namutoni, 13, has participated in mentorship lessons offered through the SHARE program which have helped her develop her confidence and believe in herself—at a critical point in her life.

“Before the mentorship program, I used to be shy. I would fear asking questions to teachers,” Namutoni explains. “But since we learned about self-confidence, I know how to be strong and ask about things I do not understand.”

The change is evident when Namutoni leads Friday afternoon debates as the debating prefect. She makes sure all students participate. “Before, girls hardly joined debates because they were shy,” she notes. “Now many girls take part without fear.”

Namutoni has also gained practical knowledge about her changing body. “Before, I did not know about menstruation. Now I know it is normal,” she says. “Before the mentorship program, girls would go home when they started their periods. But now they brought sanitary pads for the senior woman teacher, so if girls start at school, they can get help.”

Now the top student in her class and a peer educator, Namutoni leads assemblies and debates. “We perform dramas about what we have learned,” she says. Her dream of becoming a lawyer now feels attainable: “I use skills like communication and power to lead others.”

Changing Community Attitudes

The impact of SHARE extends beyond school walls, reaching into family structures and challenging gender norms.

“Before, certain chores at our school like offloading materials were reserved only for boys, while girls were expected to serve food,” Ruth observes. “That has changed. Now boys and girls share responsibilities equally.”

Namutoni has experienced this shift at home too. “At home, roles used to be divided—girls would cook, and boys would graze livestock. Now we share these roles equally. I also go out to graze animals just like the boys.”

The program has also transformed parent involvement. Ruth explains, “Before, parents used to leave their children entirely in teachers’ hands. But after attending parenting sessions, they now understand their responsibilities better. They provide scholastic materials, visit school to check on their children’s progress, and take genuine interest in education.”

Ruth now mentors other teachers, sharing SHARE’s techniques. “Education is not just about exams,” she reflects. “It is preparing children for life.” Her proudest achievement? Creating a space where “all children feel safe, heard, and capable.”

The Sexual Health and Reproductive Education (SHARE) project aims to advance gender equality by improving access to sexual and reproductive education and gender-responsive health care for young people, especially girls and young women, in Ghana, Mozambique and Uganda. Launched in 2022, through a partnership between Right To Play, FAWE, and WaterAid, the project is made possible with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada, and with technical assistance provided by FHI 360. The five-year project will strengthen sexual and reproductive rights for more than 325,000 adolescents and youth (age 10-24) by 2026.