The Supreme Court has instructed all states and Union Territories to enforce its guidelines on menstrual hygiene management in schools by August 15. Compliance reports are to be submitted as the court monitors the implementation of its ruling recognizing menstrual hygiene as a fundamental right. The matter will be reviewed in September to assess compliance status.
A public interest litigation filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur prompted these directions. The apex court has been overseeing the execution of its previous judgment that mandated free sanitary napkins and functional girls’ toilets in schools. The Centre, states, and UTs were given three months to ensure various directives, including free sanitary napkins, gender-segregated toilets, hygiene awareness programs, and safe waste disposal systems.
During the hearing, concerns were raised about the pace and quality of implementation across states. The petitioner highlighted significant gaps in execution, noting that the compliance affidavit by the Centre lacked field reports on actual compliance. Most states are yet to provide compliance reports, with only Chandigarh having submitted its report so far. The petitioner also pointed out the lack of functional girls’ toilets in numerous government schools.
