Ensuring equality through menstrual health

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Picture Courtesy: Indian Express

Context:

Supreme court in the case Dr. Jaya Thakur vs. GOI & ORS has officially recognized Menstrual Health and hygiene as a Fundamental right under Article 21.

Supreme court rulings on Menstrual Hygiene and Health:

Constitutional foundation: The Supreme Court of India ruled that access to menstrual hygiene is a matter of constitutional protection, explaining that equality under Article 14 must be understood in a substantive sense, which means the State must address biological and social disadvantages faced by girls rather than treating everyone identically. The Court further held that menstrual health falls within the right to live with dignity under Article 21, observing that stigma, shame, and school absenteeism linked to menstruation undermine bodily autonomy, privacy, and self-worth.

Right to Education interpreted in a practical sense: Reading the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act purposively, the Court clarified that “free education” cannot be limited to waiver of tuition fees, because when girls are forced to miss classes due to the cost or unavailability of menstrual products, education effectively becomes conditional, which defeats the object of the law.

Mandatory facilities schools must provide: The judgment directs that all schools, whether government or private, must supply free sanitary napkins to girl students in an environmentally sustainable manner, install safe and hygienic disposal systems, and maintain functional, private, gender-segregated toilets with running water, soap, and facilities accessible to children with disabilities. Schools must also create Menstrual Hygiene Management corners stocked with emergency supplies such as spare uniforms and disposal bags so that menstruation does not force a child to leave school mid-day.

Education and sensitisation measures: The Court emphasised that infrastructure alone is not enough and therefore instructed the National Council of Educational Research and Training and state bodies to integrate age-appropriate, gender-sensitive education on puberty and menstruation into school curricula, while requiring that all teachers receive training to support students and help dismantle stigma, including sensitising boys to foster a respectful school environment.

Monitoring and accountability: To ensure these directions are actually implemented, the Court ordered periodic inspections by District Education Officers and required that anonymous student feedback be collected so that the lived reality of girls in schools informs ongoing compliance.

Picture Courtesy: Hindustan Times

Importance of Supreme court ruling on Menstrual Hygiene and Health:

Menstruation affecting school attendance: According to National Family Health Survey across India have shown that a significant proportion of adolescent girls miss school during their periods due to lack of sanitary products, privacy, or proper toilets, with some studies estimating that 1 in 5 girls has skipped school at least once because of menstruation-related challenges. This absenteeism often compounds over time, increasing the risk of dropouts at the secondary level.

Sanitation gaps in schools were a structural barrier: Government and independent assessments of school infrastructure have repeatedly found that while many schools report having girls’ toilets on paper, a large number are non-functional, lack water supply, or offer no privacy, making them unusable during menstruation. The Court’s directions address this gap between infrastructure claims and ground reality.

Cost of sanitary products was a hidden education expense: For families in low-income households, monthly spending on sanitary napkins can be a burden, especially where there are multiple adolescent girls. Affordability issues push many girls toward unsafe alternatives, which not only affect health but also increase discomfort and school absence. By making napkins free in schools, the verdict removes a recurring financial barrier linked directly to attendance.

Link between menstrual hygiene and dropout rates: Education research in India has long noted a visible dip in girls’ retention rates around puberty, particularly in rural and economically weaker communities. Lack of menstrual support, coupled with stigma and poor facilities, has been identified as one of the contributing social factors. The ruling therefore targets a key but often overlooked reason behind gender gaps in secondary education

Key concerns in implementing Menstrual Health & Hygiene (MHH) guidelines:

• Infrastructure gaps on the ground: Although many schools are officially listed as having girls’ toilets, field reports frequently show non-functional facilities, lack of running water, broken doors, or no disposal mechanisms, meaning that translating the Supreme Court of India directions into usable infrastructure will require significant repair, maintenance, and monitoring rather than just new construction.
• Financial and logistical burden: Ensuring a regular supply of free sanitary napkins, maintaining vending machines, and installing environmentally compliant disposal systems across lakhs of schools presents a recurring financial commitment for states, along with logistical challenges in storage, distribution, and waste management, particularly in remote and rural areas.
• Maintenance and accountability issues: Past sanitation initiatives have shown that infrastructure often deteriorates due to poor maintenance, lack of cleaning staff, or unclear responsibility between school authorities and local bodies, which could weaken the long-term impact of the MHH mandate if accountability systems are not clearly defined.
• Water scarcity and hygiene constraints: In many regions, especially drought-prone or water-stressed districts, regular water supply to school toilets remains inconsistent, making it difficult to maintain hygiene standards that are essential for safe menstrual management.
• Cultural stigma and social resistance: Deep-rooted taboos around menstruation in parts of society may discourage girls from accessing facilities or asking for sanitary products, while resistance from communities or school staff uncomfortable with discussing menstruation could slow effective implementation of awareness and education components.
• Teacher training and sensitisation gaps: The directive to train all teachers is crucial, but large teacher populations, existing workload pressures, and uneven training infrastructure may delay meaningful sensitisation, limiting the effectiveness of curriculum reforms led by bodies like the National Council of Educational Research and Training.

Government initiatives:

• Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK): The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram integrates menstrual hygiene into adolescent health education, counselling, and peer educator programmes, helping normalise conversations around puberty and reproductive health.

• Swachh Bharat: Swachh Vidyalaya Initiative: Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the Swachh Vidyalaya component prioritised construction of separate toilets for girls in schools, recognising that sanitation access is essential for menstrual dignity and school attendance.

• Samagra Shiksha Scheme: The Samagra Shiksha supports states in improving school infrastructure, including toilets, water supply, and hygiene facilities, which indirectly strengthen menstrual hygiene management in educational institutions.

• National Guidelines on Menstrual Hygiene Management: The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (now under Jal Shakti) issued national MHM guidelines promoting awareness, safe disposal, and integration of menstrual hygiene into sanitation planning at schools and community levels.
• Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Sanitary Napkins: Through the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana, affordable “Suvidha” sanitary pads are made available at Jan Aushadhi Kendras across India, increasing access for low-income women and girls.

Key measures to strengthen Menstrual Health & Hygiene (MHH):

• Ensure dedicated budget lines: States can strengthen implementation by creating specific budget allocations for menstrual hygiene within school education and health programmes, ensuring that procurement of sanitary products, toilet maintenance, and disposal systems do not suffer due to competing funding priorities.

• Strengthen school infrastructure maintenance systems: Building toilets is not enough, so local bodies and school management committees should be given clear responsibility, funds, and monitoring tools to maintain water supply, cleanliness, and privacy in girls’ washrooms on a daily basis.

• Reliable supply chains for sanitary products: To avoid stockouts, governments can establish district-level procurement and distribution systems with buffer stocks, periodic audits, and digital tracking of supplies so that free sanitary napkin schemes function smoothly year-round.

• Eco-friendly disposal innovations: Investment in environmentally safe disposal technologies such as low-emission incinerators or biodegradable product alternatives can reduce the environmental burden while maintaining hygiene standards in schools and communities.

• Comprehensive menstrual education for all students: Curriculum reforms led by the National Council of Educational Research and Training can be supported with interactive learning materials, peer educator models, and inclusion of boys in discussions to dismantle stigma and promote supportive school environments.
• Public - private partnerships with local innovation: Partnerships with social enterprises and women’s self-help groups can support local production of affordable, eco-friendly sanitary products, improving livelihoods while ensuring accessibility.

Conclusion:

The recent Supreme Court verdict recognising access to menstrual hygiene as a constitutional right is a landmark step toward gender justice, equality, and dignity; it not only mandates structural changes in schools but also transforms long-standing social barriers into enforceable state duties, ensuring that menstruation no longer hinders a girl’s right to education and full participation in society.

Source: Indian Express