The Supreme Court on Monday asked for responses from the Center, states and Union territories (UTs) to a PIL asking for instructions to provide free sanitary napkins to girls studying in grades 6 to 12 in government schools across the country. country.
The top court said that as the petitioner has raised serious and important issues related to sanitation and hygiene of girl students in government and government aided schools, she is requesting Advocate General Tushar Mehta to assist the court .
A bench composed of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha took note of the plea of social activist Jaya Thakur, a doctor from Madhya Pradesh, and issued notices to the central government and all states and UTs.
It sought answers from the Center and the states by the second week of January and ordered copies of the petition to be delivered to the states through their standing counsel.
Thakur, presented in her plea by lawyer Varinder Kumar Sharma, said adolescent women between the ages of 11 and 18 who come from poor backgrounds face serious difficulties in receiving education due to the lack of access to education, a constitutional right under Article 21A of the Constitution.
“These are adolescent females who are neither equipped nor educated by their parents about menstruation and menstrual hygiene. The underserved economic status and illiteracy lead to the prevalence of unhygienic and unhealthy practices, which has serious health consequences, increases stubbornness and eventually leads to school dropouts,” the plea said.
It said that enabling girls to fulfill their educational potential is critical to achieving gender equality.
Referring to a 2018 Delhi High Court order, the plea said it authorized the Delhi government to provide free or subsidized access to menstrual hygiene products in schools and to make arrangements for education on menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
“The Government of India has been deliberating for several years about including the right to education as a fundamental right. The 1997 Saikia Committee was appointed to examine the economic viability proposal to see whether the right to free primary education up to age 14 could become a fundamental right,” it said.
The plea was that the 2009 Right to Education Act was passed and came into effect on 26 August 2009 with the aim of providing free and compulsory education for the six to 14 age group.
It added that the 2019 top court ruling in the Sabarimala Temple case related to menstrual taboos and associated stigma and held that the discriminatory emphasis placed on biological differences constituted a violation of Article 14 – the right to equality – and stressed that the social exclusion of women based on menstrual status is a form of untouchability.
“Common myths about menstruation force millions of girls to drop out of school or be banned every month for the duration of their menstrual cycle. They also affect the hiring of female workers, as menstruation is believed to hinder their productivity. Unfortunately, it is still treated as a taboo in many societies, shrouded in a culture of silence and shame.
In her plea, Thakur called on the Center and all states as parties and asked them for guidance on providing segregated toilets in all government, assisted and residential schools. It also sought directions to provide one cleaner in all government, aided and residential schools to clean the restrooms and to implement a student awareness program about menstrual health.
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