4 SC QUESTIONS TO FRAME RULING ON MENSTRUAL HYGIENE IN SCHOOLS

A girl's education should not stop because of her periods.

- REVATHY KRISHNAKUMAR

On January 30, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment that many educators and activists had been waiting for. In a petition filed by Dr Jaya Thakur, a social worker, the court addressed the utter lack of menstrual hygiene management in schools and its crushing impact on girls’ education.A bench of justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan didn't just issue directions. They went deeper, asking and answering four basic questions that reframe how we think about menstruation, education, and constitutional rights. As Justice Pardiwala noted in the judgment's opening, quoting American educator Melissa Berton: "A period should end a sentence—not a girl's education."

Problem at hand

The numbers are stark. Across India, lakhs of girls between classes 6 and 12 miss school or drop out because of inadequate menstrual hygiene facilities. The petition sought basic provisions — free sanitary pads for female students, separate toilets for girls in all government-aided and residential schools, cleanliness measures, and awareness programmes on menstrual health.

Justice Pardiwala structured the analysis around four sharp questions, each addressing a different dimension.

Question one: Does education qualify as a fundamental human right, and if so, what it means for menstrual hygiene?

The court's answer was unequivocal. Drawing from international human rights frameworks, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ruling established that education is indeed a fundamental human right. The court also examined what "access to education" truly means.