Menstrual Hygiene as a Fundamental Right

News: The Supreme Court delivered a landmark judgment while hearing a case on nationwide implementation of the Centre’s menstrual hygiene policy for school-going girls.

About Menstrual Hygiene as a Fundamental Right

• The Supreme Court held that the right to menstrual hygiene and access to related products is part of the right to life under Article 21.
• Case Background: The judgment was delivered by a Bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan during a hearing related to menstrual hygiene in schools.
• Supreme Court Observation
  • Article 21 (Dignity and Privacy): The Court ruled that dignity cannot remain an abstract idea and must include conditions that prevent humiliation, exclusion, and avoidable suffering.
    • Forcing girls to choose between education and menstruation violates the right to live with dignity.
  • Article 14 (Substantive Equality): The SC observed that equal treatment without addressing existing disadvantages perpetuates inequality.
    • The absence of menstrual hygiene facilities converts a biological reality into structural exclusion.
  • Article 21A (Right to Education): Lack of menstrual hygiene facilities acts as an infrastructural barrier to education.
    • Removing this barrier is necessary to make education truly free, compulsory, and accessible.