Today, On 30th January, The Supreme Court affirmed that the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to menstrual health, mandating free sanitary pads and separate toilets in schools. It said menstrual hygiene ensures reproductive health, equality, dignity, and fair opportunity for every girl.
The Supreme Court delivered a ground breaking ruling recognizing the right to menstrual hygiene and access to menstrual products as integral to the right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
The ruling was issued by Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan in response to a case related to the national implementation of the Centre’s “Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School-going Girls” in government and government-aided schools.
The Supreme Court has laid down a set of mandatory directives for states, Union Territories, and schools to uphold the dignity, health, and equality of girls and women.
In its ruling on a petition advocating for complimentary sanitary pads and proper sanitation facilities for schoolgirls, the Court mandated that all states and Union Territories supply biodegradable sanitary napkins at no cost to female students in every school.
Additionally, it instructed authorities to guarantee separate toilets for both female and male students, as well as accessibility-friendly toilets in all schools.
The Court ruled,
“The right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution includes the right to menstrual health. Access to safe, effective, and affordable menstrual hygiene management measures helps a girl child attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. The right to a healthy reproductive life embraces the right to access education and information about sexual health. The right to equality is expressed through the right to participate on equal terms. At the same time, equality of opportunity necessitates that everyone has a fair chance to acquire the skills necessary to access benefits,”
The Court was tasked with determining whether the lack of gender-segregated toilets and the unavailability of menstrual products constituted a violation of the right to education.
It concluded that the absence of menstrual hygiene management resources violates the dignity of young girls.
It held,
“The inaccessibility of menstrual hygiene management measures undermines the dignity of a girl child, as dignity finds expression in conditions that enable individuals to live without humiliation, exclusion, or avoidable suffering. Privacy is inextricably linked with dignity. As a corollary, the right to privacy entails a duty on the State not only to refrain from violating privacy, but also an accompanying obligation to take necessary measures to protect the privacy of an individual,”
The Court emphasized that this judgment aims to motivate students, educators, and parents to recognize and advocate for menstrual hygiene facilities.
The Court said,
“It is meant for the classroom, where girls hesitate to ask for help. It is for the teachers who want to help but are restrained due to a lack of resources. It is for the parents who may not realize the impact of their silence, and for society, to establish that progress is measured by how we protect the most vulnerable. We wish to communicate to every girl child who may have become a victim of absenteeism because her body was perceived as a burden, that the fault is not hers. These words must travel beyond the courtroom and law review reports, and reach the everyday conscience of society at large,”
The Haryana government informed the court that an investigation had been launched regarding the university incident and that action had been taken against two individuals deemed responsible.
Case Title: DR. JAYA THAKUR Versus GOVERNMENT OF INDIA AND ORS.
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