Ruling that the right to menstrual health is a part of the fundamental right to life, the Supreme Court on Friday directed all states and Union Territories to ensure adolescent students in private and government schools are provided bio-degradable sanitary pads for free, PTI reported.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan instructed the states to ensure separate toilets for male and female students in all schools, including facilities that are accessible to students with disabilities.
The court directed states to make sure that all schools set up menstrual hygiene management corners, which will have spare innerwear, uniforms and other necessary materials to address menstrual urgency, Live Law reported.
The ruling came on a public interest litigation seeking the nationwide implementation of the Union government’s menstrual hygiene policy for schoolgirls in government and government-aided institutes.
The plea had sought directions to the Centre and the state governments to provide free sanitary pads to female students between Class 6 and Class 12, and separate toilets in all government, government-aided and residential schools for girls.
“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,” Bar and Bench quoted the bench as having said.
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