The right to menstrual health is an integral part of the 'Right to Life' under Article 21 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court said in a landmark judgment today, aimed at ensuring gender justice and educational equity across India.
A top court bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan has mandated the pan-India implementation of the Centre's 'Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School-going Girls.' The court directed all states and Union Territories to ensure that every school - government, government-aided, or private - provides free biodegradable sanitary napkins and functional, gender-segregated toilets.
"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," Justice JB Pardiwala stated. He further noted that the right to a healthy reproductive life embraces the right to access education and information about sexual health.
The Court observed that the inaccessibility of menstrual hygiene measures directly "undermines the dignity of a girl child," noting that dignity is found in conditions that enable individuals to live without humiliation, exclusion, or avoidable suffering. The bench warned that this inaccessibility strips away the right to participate on equal terms in school, creating a "domino effect" where the absence of education leads to an inability to participate in all walks of life later.
"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 observed.
Beyond infrastructure, the Court emphasised the human element of the struggle. Justice Pardiwala noted that the judgment is not merely for legal stakeholders, but for "the classroom, where girls hesitate to ask for help," and for "teachers who want to help but are restrained due to a lack of resources."
"It is for the parents who may not realise the impact of their silence, and for society, to establish that progress is measured by how we protect the most vulnerable," Justice Pardiwala said.
"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," he added.
"These words must travel beyond the courtroom and law review reports and reach the everyday conscience of society at large."
The Supreme Court has directed all schools to be equipped with safe, hygienic, and environmentally compliant mechanisms for the disposal of sanitary napkins, in accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules.
Furthermore, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and state councils have been directed to incorporate gender-responsive curricula. This will cover menstruation, puberty, and related health concerns such as PCOS and PCOD, with the specific goal of breaking the stigma and taboos historically associated with menstrual health and hygiene.
