As millions of Filipino students return to school this June, Plan International Pilipinas is raising concerns over the challenges preventing many girls from fully participating in education, including period poverty, unpaid domestic labor, and teenage pregnancy.

The girls’ and children’s rights organization is calling on government agencies, schools, and families to look beyond enrollment figures and address the systemic issues that continue to keep girls out of classrooms.

“Every June, we celebrate the return to school, but for too many girls, the bigger story is what is stopping them from fully being there,” said Plan International Pilipinas Executive Director Pebbles Sanchez-Ogang. “Period poverty, unpaid caregiving, and teenage pregnancy are not personal problems; they are systemic failures that we have the responsibility to address.”

Period Poverty Continues to Affect School Attendance

According to the World Bank, 8% of girls in the Philippines have skipped school because of menstruation. Many miss classes due to severe menstrual pain, lack of access to menstrual products, and fear of bullying or discrimination.

Findings from the Sang pour Sang Project showed that 96% of menstruators in the country have experienced at least one form of menstrual discrimination, including teasing, exclusion, and stigma.

Limited menstrual health education further contributes to the problem. UNFPA Philippines noted that shame, misinformation, and stigma surrounding menstruation often discourage girls from seeking help or accessing proper menstrual products.

To help address these challenges, Plan International Pilipinas, in partnership with UNICEF Philippines and the Philippine government, launched the Oky Period Tracker App, a digital tool co-created with girls that provides reliable menstrual health information and personalized cycle tracking.

Since its launch, the app has reached more than 187,000 registered users in the Philippines, with independent research by BBC Media Action finding that many users gained a better understanding of menstrual health and felt less embarrassed discussing their periods.

“Menstrual health is not just a hygiene issue—it is an education issue,” Sanchez-Ogang said. “We need better facilities, more affordable products, and innovative solutions like the Oky App so that no girl has to choose between her period and her future.”

Unpaid Domestic Work Limits Educational Opportunities

Unpaid caregiving and household responsibilities also continue to affect girls’ education.

Plan International’s Real Choices, Real Lives study, which followed 142 girls across nine countries including the Philippines, found that girls spend an average of five hours and 15 minutes each day on unpaid domestic work, reducing time for school and increasing the likelihood of dropping out.

Data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) also showed that nine in ten economically inactive women cited household and family duties as the reason they could not participate in the labor force.

Meanwhile, EDCOM II reported that the need to work contributes to 44.17% of school dropouts among Filipino youth.

Teenage Pregnancy Remains a Major Challenge

Teenage pregnancy continues to force many girls out of school.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority recorded 138,697 live births among females aged 10 to 19 in 2024, including 3,560 cases involving girls aged 10 to 14, up from 3,343 cases in 2023.

A 2024 study supported by Plan International Pilipinas in Occidental Mindoro found that pregnancies among girls under 15 increased by 35% between 2021 and 2022.

The same study revealed that 78% of sexually active youth had unprotected sex during their first sexual encounter, while four in ten young people reported having no access to trustworthy sexual health information.

A Call for Collective Action

Plan International Pilipinas emphasized that addressing these barriers requires coordinated efforts from schools, communities, government agencies, families, and civil society organizations.

The organization continues to advocate for safe, inclusive, and supportive environments where girls can access education, information, protection, and opportunities without discrimination.

Founded in 1961, Plan International Pilipinas works to advance children’s rights and gender equality through programs focused on education, health, protection, youth leadership, and humanitarian response, while encouraging the public to #StandWithGirls and support efforts that ensure every girl can stay in school and reach her full potential.