All government and private schools must provide free sanitary pads and have gender-segregated toilets, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday, setting a three-month deadline.
These facilities are a fundamental right under Article 21, which enshrines the right to life and liberty with “dignity”, the court said.
It said all school toilets must ensure privacy, be accessible to children with disabilities, and have soap and water available at all times.
Governments must ensure that every school — public or private, rural or urban — provides free, biodegradable sanitary napkins compliant with the ASTM D-6954 standards, the court said.
These should be made easily accessible, preferably through vending machines within the toilet premises or, where such installation is not immediately feasible, at a designated place or with a designated authority within the school.
The bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan asked the Centre, states and Union Territories to ensure compliance within three months.
The judgment came on a public interest plea from Madhya Pradesh Congress leader and social activist Jaya Thakur, who sought such measures to stem the large-scale absenteeism among schoolgirls.
“…When a girl child cannot access menstrual absorbents, she may resort to natural materials, newspaper, cloth, tissue, cotton wool or any other unhygienic absorbent,” the court said.
“In case of a lack of adequate clean water and soap, she may also struggle to properly clean and dry herself.... Poor menstrual hygiene may cause reproductive tract infections… (that) may in turn lead to infertility.”
It added: “The State bears a positive obligation under Article 21 to protect the right to health, more particularly, the menstrual health of girl children…. The lack of access to such products impedes the physical well-being, dignity and overall development of menstruating girl children.”
The court cited Article 15(3) of the Constitution that provides for special measures for women and children because of “their vulnerability”.
Some of the highlights of the judgment:
- Every school must establish “menstrual hygiene management” corners equipped with spare innerwear, spare uniforms, disposable bags and other materials necessary to address menstruation-related exigencies.
- Every school must have a safe, hygienic and environment-friendly mechanism for the disposal of sanitary napkins.
- Each toilet must have a clean, covered waste bin for sanitary material.
- The national and state textbook bodies – the NCERT and the SCERTs – must prepare gender-responsive curricula, dealing particularly with menstruation, puberty and related health concerns (such as polycystic ovary syndrome or polycystic ovarian disease) for the purpose of breaking the stigma and taboos associated with menstrual health and hygiene.
- All schoolteachers, male and female, must be trained and sensitised on the appropriate ways of supporting and assisting menstruating pupils on hygiene.
- Information on the availability of Jan Aushadhi Suvidha oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins must be widely advertised through social media, print media, radio, TV, wall paintings, movie theatres, buses and bus stands.
- The child helpline set up by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights must be similarly advertised.
It will be up to the Centre to “satisfy us on substantial compliance”, including “compliance by all the states”, the bench said.