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Supreme Court Recognises Menstrual Hygiene as a Fundamental Right Under Article 21 | Khabarforyou

The Legal LADKI
30 Jan, 2026
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Name:-The Legal LADKI
Email:-thelegalladki@gmail.com
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New Delhi:&nbsp;In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India on Friday recognised&nbsp;menstrual hygiene and access to menstrual hygiene products as an integral part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The ruling was delivered in the case&nbsp;Dr. Jaya Thakur v. Government of India, marking a significant step toward protecting the dignity, health, and educational rights of girl students across the country.&nbsp;A Bench&nbsp;comprising&nbsp;Justice JB&nbsp;Pardiwala&nbsp;and Justice R Mahadevan&nbsp;held that&nbsp;access to menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is inseparable from the right to live with dignity. The Court&nbsp;observed&nbsp;that denial of menstrual hygiene facilities perpetuates stigma, discrimination, and humiliation among menstruating girls, especially in school environments.&nbsp;Read More : -&nbsp;A Six Year Old Girl Allegedly Gang-Raped by Three Minors in Delhi’s Bhajanpura; Accused Detained | KhabarforyouMenstrual Health is a Constitutional Right&nbsp;&nbsp;The Court categorically ruled that the&nbsp;right to life under Article 21 includes the right to menstrual health. It emphasized that access to&nbsp;safe, effective, and affordable menstrual hygiene products&nbsp;is crucial for ensuring the&nbsp;highest standard of sexual and reproductive health&nbsp;for girl children.&nbsp;“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&nbsp;attain&nbsp;the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health,” the judgment&nbsp;stated.&nbsp;The Bench further underlined that&nbsp;privacy, equality, education, and dignity&nbsp;are interconnected with menstrual health rights. It noted that girls have a legitimate expectation to&nbsp;manage menstruation in privacy and with dignity, free from discrimination or embarrassment.Case Origin and Purpose&nbsp;The ruling arose from a plea seeking&nbsp;free sanitary pads for female students from Classes 6 to 12&nbsp;and&nbsp;separate toilet facilities for girls in government-aided and residential schools. The Court acknowledged the urgent need to bridge systemic gaps in menstrual health infrastructure across Indian schools.&nbsp;Key Directions Issued to Schools Nationwide&nbsp;To ensure nationwide compliance, the Supreme Court issued a&nbsp;comprehensive set of directives:&nbsp;- Infrastructure and Sanitation&nbsp;&nbsp; - All&nbsp;schools&nbsp;government and private,&nbsp;rural&nbsp;and urban must provide&nbsp;functional, gender-segregated toilets with water connectivity, ensuring privacy and dignity, including for students with disabilities.&nbsp;&nbsp; - Schools must install&nbsp;safe and environmentally compliant disposal mechanisms&nbsp;for sanitary napkins,&nbsp;in accordance with&nbsp;Solid Waste Management Rules.&nbsp;- Free Sanitary Products&nbsp;Oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins must be provided free of cost&nbsp;to girl students.&nbsp;Pads should be available through&nbsp;vending machines in toilets, or via&nbsp; designated school authorities if installation is not&nbsp;immediately&nbsp;possible.&nbsp;- Menstrual Hygiene Support Facilities&nbsp;Every school must set up&nbsp;Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) corners, stocked with essentials such as&nbsp;spare innerwear, spare uniforms, disposable bags, and emergency hygiene supplies.&nbsp;- Monitoring and Compliance&nbsp;&nbsp; - The Court ordered&nbsp;periodic inspections&nbsp;of schools to ensure compliance and infrastructure maintenance.&nbsp;&nbsp; - The matter will be reviewed again by the Court&nbsp;after three months.&nbsp;- Education and Awareness Reforms Ordered&nbsp;&nbsp; - Recognising the role of education in breaking stigma, the Court directed curriculum reforms and awareness initiatives:&nbsp;&nbsp; -&nbsp;NCERT and SCERT&nbsp;must integrate&nbsp;gender-responsive lessons&nbsp;on menstruation, puberty, PCOS, PCOD, and reproductive health.&nbsp;Information about&nbsp;free sanitary pad availability&nbsp;must be widely promoted through&nbsp;media, radio, advertisements, and public campaigns.&nbsp;- Menstrual Poverty Linked to School Dropouts&nbsp;&nbsp; The Court highlighted the&nbsp;direct link between menstrual poverty and girls’ absenteeism and dropout rates. It noted that lack of hygiene facilities forces many girls to skip school during their periods, negatively affecting their education.&nbsp;“Menstrual poverty hinders menstruating girls from exercising their right to education with dignity… Many girls choose to absent themselves due to lack of access to sanitary products, washrooms, and disposal mechanisms,” the Court&nbsp;observed.&nbsp;- Concern Over Poor School Facilities&nbsp;&nbsp; - Referring to national research and the&nbsp;Clean India: Clean Schools Handbook, the Court expressed concern over the&nbsp;absence of adequate water supply, sanitation, and menstrual hygiene management in many schools.&nbsp;&nbsp; - It further highlighted the&nbsp;additional&nbsp;hardships faced by menstruating girls with disabilities, stressing the need for&nbsp;inclusive and accessible hygiene infrastructure.&nbsp;- Menstrual Health, Privacy, and Dignity&nbsp;The Court ruled that&nbsp;inaccessibility to menstrual hygiene measures violates the dignity and privacy of girl children, reinforcing that the&nbsp;State has a duty not only to avoid infringing privacy but also to actively protect it.&nbsp;“The inaccessibility of menstrual hygiene management measures undermines the dignity of a girl child,”&nbsp;the judgment&nbsp;stated.&nbsp;- Call to End Stigma and Educate Boys&nbsp;The Bench emphasized that&nbsp;menstrual health is not solely a women’s issue&nbsp;and called for&nbsp;sensitization of male teachers and boy students.&nbsp;“Menstruation should not be a topic shared in hushed whispers. Boys must be educated about the biological reality of menstruation to prevent stigma and harassment,”&nbsp;the Court noted.&nbsp;- A Judgment for Classrooms, Families, and Society&nbsp;In a powerful closing remark, the Court&nbsp;stated&nbsp;that the judgment is intended to&nbsp;empower girl students, support teachers, inform parents, and reshape societal attitudes.&nbsp;“It is meant for the classroom, for the teachers who want to help, for the parents who may not realise the impact of their silence, and for society at large… The fault is not hers,”&nbsp;the Court concluded.Business, Sports, Lifestyle ,Politics ,Entertainment ,Technology ,National ,World ,Travel ,Editorial and Article&nbsp;में सबसे बड़ी समाचार कहानियों के शीर्ष पर बने रहने के लिए, हमारे&nbsp;subscriber-to-our-newsletter&nbsp;khabarforyou.com&nbsp;पर बॉटम लाइन पर साइन अप करें। |&nbsp;| यदि आपके या आपके किसी जानने वाले के पास प्रकाशित करने के लिए कोई समाचार है, तो इस हेल्पलाइन पर कॉल करें या व्हाट्सअप करें:&nbsp;8502024040&nbsp;|&nbsp;#KFY #KFYNEWS&nbsp;#KHABARFORYOU&nbsp;#WORLDNEWS&nbsp;नवीनतम&nbsp; PODCAST सुनें, केवल&nbsp;The FM Yours&nbsp;पर&nbsp;Click for more trending&nbsp;Khabar

New Delhi: In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India on Friday recognised menstrual hygiene and access to menstrual hygiene products as an integral part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The ruling was delivered in the case Dr. Jaya Thakur v. Government of India, marking a significant step toward protecting the dignity, health, and educational rights of girl students across the country.

A Bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan held that access to menstrual hygiene management (MHM) is inseparable from the right to live with dignity. The Court observed that denial of menstrual hygiene facilities perpetuates stigma, discrimination, and humiliation among menstruating girls, especially in school environments.

Menstrual Health is a Constitutional Right

The Court categorically ruled that the right to life under Article 21 includes the right to menstrual health. It emphasized that access to safe, effective, and affordable menstrual hygiene products is crucial for ensuring the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health for girl children.

“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,” the judgment stated.

The Bench further underlined that privacy, equality, education, and dignity are interconnected with menstrual health rights. It noted that girls have a legitimate expectation to manage menstruation in privacy and with dignity, free from discrimination or embarrassment.

Case Origin and Purpose

The ruling arose from a plea seeking free sanitary pads for female students from Classes 6 to 12 and separate toilet facilities for girls in government-aided and residential schools. The Court acknowledged the urgent need to bridge systemic gaps in menstrual health infrastructure across Indian schools.

Key Directions Issued to Schools Nationwide

To ensure nationwide compliance, the Supreme Court issued a comprehensive set of directives:

- Infrastructure and Sanitation

- All schools government and private, rural and urban must provide functional, gender-segregated toilets with water connectivity, ensuring privacy and dignity, including for students with disabilities.

- Schools must install safe and environmentally compliant disposal mechanisms for sanitary napkins, in accordance with Solid Waste Management Rules.

- Free Sanitary Products

Oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins must be provided free of cost to girl students. Pads should be available through vending machines in toilets, or via designated school authorities if installation is not immediately possible.

- Menstrual Hygiene Support Facilities

Every school must set up Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) corners, stocked with essentials such as spare innerwear, spare uniforms, disposable bags, and emergency hygiene supplies.

- Monitoring and Compliance

- The Court ordered periodic inspections of schools to ensure compliance and infrastructure maintenance.

- The matter will be reviewed again by the Court after three months.

- Education and Awareness Reforms Ordered

- Recognising the role of education in breaking stigma, the Court directed curriculum reforms and awareness initiatives:

- NCERT and SCERT must integrate gender-responsive lessons on menstruation, puberty, PCOS, PCOD, and reproductive health. Information about free sanitary pad availability must be widely promoted through media, radio, advertisements, and public campaigns.

- Menstrual Poverty Linked to School Dropouts

The Court highlighted the direct link between menstrual poverty and girls’ absenteeism and dropout rates. It noted that lack of hygiene facilities forces many girls to skip school during their periods, negatively affecting their education.

“Menstrual poverty hinders menstruating girls from exercising their right to education with dignity… Many girls choose to absent themselves due to lack of access to sanitary products, washrooms, and disposal mechanisms,” the Court observed.

- Concern Over Poor School Facilities

- Referring to national research and the Clean India: Clean Schools Handbook, the Court expressed concern over the absence of adequate water supply, sanitation, and menstrual hygiene management in many schools.

- It further highlighted the additional hardships faced by menstruating girls with disabilities, stressing the need for inclusive and accessible hygiene infrastructure.

- Menstrual Health, Privacy, and Dignity

The Court ruled that inaccessibility to menstrual hygiene measures violates the dignity and privacy of girl children, reinforcing that the State has a duty not only to avoid infringing privacy but also to actively protect it.

“The inaccessibility of menstrual hygiene management measures undermines the dignity of a girl child,” the judgment stated.

- Call to End Stigma and Educate Boys

The Bench emphasized that menstrual health is not solely a women’s issue and called for sensitization of male teachers and boy students.

“Menstruation should not be a topic shared in hushed whispers. Boys must be educated about the biological reality of menstruation to prevent stigma and harassment,” the Court noted.

- A Judgment for Classrooms, Families, and Society

In a powerful closing remark, the Court stated that the judgment is intended to empower girl students, support teachers, inform parents, and reshape societal attitudes.

“It is meant for the classroom, for the teachers who want to help, for the parents who may not realise the impact of their silence, and for society at large… The fault is not hers,” the Court concluded.