Supreme Court: Plea Seeking Free Sanitary Napkins For School Girls; Notice Issued To Centre, States, ‘Important Issue’

The Supreme Court in the case Jaya Thakur v GoI And Ors, the bench comprising of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha observed and has issued a notice to the Central Government and all states and Union Territories in a petition seeking free sanitary napkins to all adolescent girls in schools.
In the present case, the petitioner who is a social worker, had invoked the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution in the matter. The plea also seeks for separate girls’ washrooms in all government, aided and residential schools along with cleaners for the same.
As per the plea filled, the inadequate Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) options were a major barrier to education, resulting in many girls dropping out of school due to lack of access to sanitation facilities, the menstrual products and the stigma which is associated with menstruation. However, the court recognised the importance of the issue and requested Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta to assist in the matter.
At the outset, the counsel, Advocate Varun Thakur, appearing for the petitioner submitted that as per a report by Dasra, over 23 million girls dropped out of school annually due to lack of proper MHM facilities. The girls facing difficulties were only compounded by the fact that several educational institutions lacked basic toilet facilities.
The plea filled not only prayed for free sanitary napkins and toilets in school, but has also prayed for a three-stage awareness program that –

1. Creating awareness about menstrual health and dispels the taboo surrounding it
2. Providing adequate sanitation facilities and subsidised or free sanitary products to women, especially in disadvantaged areas.
3. Ensuring an efficient and sanitary manner of menstrual waste disposal.
   Accordingly, the court listed the matter for second week of January 2023.