युवा आवेग

The governments in democratic nations always try to do work such that their people always remain happy from them. They always work for the priority of that section which is a little bit less developed as compared to men. One of them is a woman or a girl. Since, in this article I am going to talk about girls, it is necessary to mention all of them as a girl not women. If I talk for our country, we as a male dominant society always ignore the basic rights and needs of our girls. It was always understood that our girls will adjust in every condition.  We never wanted to feel their problems. But as the time passed , we started focusing on them also. Firstly, it was seen that a major problem faced by a girl was that there were no toilets in market places, in schools, colleges etc. especially Made for them. So our governments started to make toilets for them. Similarly, other facilities were made available for them. But no one was focusing on the problems faced during the menstrual period of our girls. This time is very crucial for any girl because they face a non bearable pain in their private parts. Bleeding happens in a very huge amount for at least 3 to 4 days, due to which they remain in panic for days.  A few years ago, when there was no awareness spread for sanitary pads by governments, the girls used cotton clothes to stop the flow of blood. These clothes were very unhygienic, and instead of solving the problem it created a lot of problems for girls regarding menstrual hygiene. But for the past 20 years, government advertisements have promoted the use of sanitary pads.

But for the last few years, the girls were demanding that there must be a facility for pads provided by the government in all schools and colleges. Few schools and colleges implemented it but due to minimal effort done by the Government, many schools and colleges were seen as uninterested in this matter.

On January 30, 2026, a bench of our Honourable Supreme Court of India headed by Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan gave a landmark judgement.  He said that the right to education is a ‘multiplier right’ as it enables exercise of other human rights. Right to education forms part of the broader framework of the right to life and human dignity, which cannot be realized without access to education. The Court further concluded that inaccessibility of menstrual hygiene management measures undermine the dignity of a girl child and that 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 right to healthy reproductive life embraces the right to access education and information about sexual health”.

So the Government must provide sanitary napkins for the girls of Class 6 to 12. If possible vending machines of sanitary napkins must be given to all schools so that girls facing the problem can get access to it very easily. The pads must be of best quality All States and Union Territories shall ensure that every school, whether Government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, provides oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins manufactured in compliance with the ASTM D-6954 standards free of cost. Such sanitary napkins shall be made readily accessible to girl students, preferably within the toilet premises through sanitary napkin vending machines, or, where such installation is not immediately feasible, at a designated place or with a designated authority within the school.

All States and Union Territories shall ensure that every school, whether Government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, establish Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) corners. Such MHM corners shall be equipped with, including but not limited to, spare innerwear, spare uniforms, disposable bags, and other necessary materials to address menstruation related exigencies.

All teachers, whether male or female, shall be adequately trained and sensitized on menstrual hygiene, including appropriate ways of supporting and assisting menstruating students.

Information regarding the availability of Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin shall be widely disseminated through advertisement in social media, print media, radio advertisement, TV advertisement, cinema advertisement, and outdoor publicity like bus queue shelter branding, bus branding, auto wrapping, wall paintings.

The child helpline set up by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in furtherance of Rule 26 of the RTE Rules be disseminated forthwith through social media, print media, radio advertisement, TV advertisement, cinema advertisement, etc.

This landmark judgement will definitely create a moment of joy among the school girls who face these problems a lot but they are unable to share their problems with their friends and family members.

Team Yuva Aaveg-

Shashwat

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