National Policy On Menstrual Hygiene : Supreme Court Warns States & UTs Which Haven't Filed Responses

The Supreme Court on Monday directed all States and Union Territories to submit their responses concerning their respective menstrual hygiene policies to the Union Government by August 31, 2023. The direction was passed by a bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra in a plea seeking menstrual hygiene for school-going girls in the country.

Earlier, the court had directed the central government to frame a National Policy on menstrual hygiene and stated that the said policy must ensure low cost sanitary napkins and safe disposal mechanisms of sanitary napkins in schools. For this purpose, States and Union Territories were directed to send the Union their menstrual hygiene policies within a period of 4 weeks.

However, yesterday, ASG Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union Government, informed the court that the Union had received a response only from four states, namely– Delhi, Haryana, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. She requested the court to direct other States and Union Territories to also file their responses soon. CJI DY Chandrachud, dictating the order said – 

"We direct all States and Union Territories to file responses in the matter by August 31, 2023. A copy of this order shall be made available to all the Chief Secretaries of the States & UTs. In case this order is not complied with, this court will have to take recourse to the coercive arm of law. List the matter in the second week of November."

The bench was considering a petition seeking directions to the Union of India, the States, and the Union Territories to ensure, among other things, provisions for sanitary pads to girl children in class 6-12 and separate toilets for girls in all government, government aided schools, and residential schools.

As per the petition, the inadequate Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) options were a major barrier to education, with many girls dropping out of school due to lack of access to sanitation facilities, menstrual products and the stigma associated with menstruation.

The petition not only prayed for free sanitary napkins and toilets in school, but also prayed for a three stage awareness program that -

1. Creates awareness about menstrual health and dispels the taboo surrounding it;

2. Provides adequate sanitation facilities and subsidised or free sanitary products to women, especially in disadvantaged areas;

3. Ensures an efficient and sanitary manner of menstrual waste disposal.

Case Title: Dr. Jaya Thakur v GoI And Ors. WP(C) No. 1000/2022

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