A severe lack of awareness about reproductive health along with deep-rooted social and religious stigma around it has been found among the marginalised national minority communities in Sylhet in a recent study by the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology.
The study titled ‘Improving sexual and reproductive health of women and adolescent girls of the Khasi, Garo, and tea garden worker communities of Sylhet’ has been conducted by SUST teachers under the Healthcare Education Acceleration and Transformation sub-project financed by the World Bank and the University Grants Commission.
Preliminary findings of the research, conducted in late 2025, were presented on Saturday at a programme held at the Social Science Building on the university campus in presence of academics, researchers, representatives of the tea workers and national minority communities.
According to the findings, menstrual hygiene management remains severely neglected among many women and adolescent girls among these mirginalised communities.
Because of embarrassment and fear of social view, women often avoid seeking medical treatment for menstruation-related complications, while many of them continue to use cloth instead of sanitary napkins during menstruation, according to the findings.
Due to privacy concerns, they dried the cloths in dark and damp places before reusing them, accelerating the risk of infections and other health complications, researchers said.
Researchers observe that many women perceive menstrual pain and related physical complications as ‘normal,’ and ignore related symptoms even when they indicate serious medical conditions.
The research also highlights the limited decision-making power of women regarding family planning and childbirth.
In many cases, husbands and mothers-in-law dominate decisions about pregnancy after early marriage. Newly married women are frequently pressured to conceive soon after their marriage, while attempts to use contraceptive methods are often discouraged by family members, according to the study report.
Another major concern identified in the study is the widespread fear of hospitals and Caesarean deliveries among the tea workers and ethnic minority communities, as many women reportedly believe that visiting a hospital for childbirth automatically results in Caesarean section.
As a result, a notable number of women continue to deliver babies at home under unsafe environment and avoid visiting trained healthcare professionals during the postnatal period.
Researchers at the presentation event emphasised that improving healthcare outcomes for the marginalised populations would be difficult unless prevailing social and religious misconceptions were effectively addressed.
They also stressed expansion of awareness building initiatives both by government and non-government actors to improve reproductive healthcare knowledge among the national minority communities, including tea garden workers.
SUST social work professor Faisal Ahmed led the research as sub-project manager, while Professor Ismail Hossain served as the assistant sub-project manager and Mohammad Shahjahan Chowdhury as a member of the research team.
Postgraduate students of the department of social work Marzia Sultana Pinki, Atia Sharmin, Rubel Mia and Mariyam Anjum Zerin alongside Mayuri Debnath and Jhuma Khanam Smriti from the public administration department worked as research assistants for the study.
