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Sanitary napkin distribution stopped in Delhi gov’t schools, HC expresses disappointment

Wed, 25 May 2022 04:14:05 +0000

On May 23, 2022, the Delhi High Court expressed displeasure over Delhi government for discontinuing distribution of sanitary napkins to girl students of government and government-aided schools. The Court held that mere absence of a running contract is not a good reason to discontinue such an important facility.

According to LiveLaw, the Bench stated, “Mere absence of a running contract is not sufficient to discontinue social measure of the kind noticed above and the Delhi government should evolve a policy to deal with a situation whenever an existing contract lapses its time or is terminated.”

The Division Bench presided by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Sachin Dutta sought response of the Government of NCT Delhi in a Writ Petition [Writ Petition no. 7947 of 2022 – Social Jurist v/s. Government of NCT of Delhi & Ors.], seeking restoration of the facility of sanitary napkins for girl students in all government-run schools.

The bench took cognisance of a plea filed by a civil rights group named Social Jurist, and issued notice asking the government to file the response within four weeks. Accordingly, the matter has been kept for next hearing on July 6, 2022.

About the Petition

The Petition was filed in the Delhi High Court by a civil rights group Social Jurist through Advocate Ashok Agarwal and Advocate Kumar Utkarsh, seeking the restoration of sanitary napkin facility for girl students in government schools.

The Petition states that the Department of Expenditure of Delhi government had adopted the scheme named Kishori Yojna under which girl students enrolled in its schools will be provided sanitary napkins to maintain personal hygiene and general health in addition to eliminating obstacles in their studies.

The Petition further states that the distribution of sanitary napkins was discontinued in January 2021. It further added that the restoration of this facility is critical for girl students’ personal hygiene and overall health, as its absence has a negative impact on their study and attendance.

The Petition also stated that the letter was also written in this regard, by the All India Parents Association (AIPA) to the Chief Minister of the Delhi government on May 13, 2022, requesting for immediate restoration of this facility.

The Petition further stated that not providing sanitary napkins is irrational, unreasonable, and arbitrary. It is in violation of girl students’ fundamental right to education, as guaranteed by Articles 14, 21, and 21-A of the Indian Constitution, as well as the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, and the Delhi School Education Act, 1973.

Arguments made by both sides

Advocate Ashok Agarwal and Advocate Kumar Utkarsh representing the Petitioners, argued that the government of Delhi was earlier providing the facility of sanitary napkins, but had discontinued the same since January 2021.

It was further argued that the Delhi Government has no justification for its act of discontinuing the facility of providing sanitary napkins to the girl students, which are very much needed for the hygiene, health and education of the girl students.

Advocate Santosh Kumar Tripathi representing the Delhi government, appeared on advance notice and had apprised the Court that the facility was discontinued as the previous tender had been cancelled. Now, as the new tender has been issued and the process is likely to be finalized by July, before the resumption of school session after the summer break.

Court’s Observation

The Bench observed that such discontinuation of such an important facility is causing problems to girl students. The Bench also questioned how a welfare measure like this can stop, only because the tender issued was cancelled.

As reported by Live Law, the bench said it is always open to the government to make procurement at approved rates on GeM portal, an e-market place hosted by Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry, where common user goods and services can be procured.

The order may be read here:

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MP’s ‘Padman’: Villager sets up sanitary pad manufacturing unit

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 10:35:22 +0000

They say, inspiration can come from anywhere. This holds true in the case of a 37-year-old resident of Khor village who, inspired by the movie ‘Padman’ set up a sanitary napkin manufacturing unit, employing 15 women from the area.

In a bid to promote menstrual hygiene in his village and provide cheap sanitary pads, Bhupendra Khoiwal set up a manufacturing unit in his village, 15 km from the district headquarters in Madhya Pradesh. He set up the unit called Aishwarya Enterprises six months ago with an investment of Rs. 3.5 lakh.

Speaking to PTI on Thursday he said, “My family supported my idea and provided financial help for setting up a production unit, which I named after my daughter Aishwarya.”

Yet, in this virtuous initiative, he faced obstacles as he tried to convince women to work with him. He managed to get just 15 of them on board. Today, they not only help him with manufacturing and sales but also help with raising awareness on menstrual hygiene in their village.

Bharti Nagpal, one of the 15 women employed by Khoiwal, said, “We educate women about the advantages of sanitary pads and caution them about the health hazards of using cloth during mensuration.”

Khoiwal also mentioned the cost benefits of the pads saying, “These pads are economical and a packet of eight pads costs Rs 20,” he said, adding that the cost of similar products in the market is Rs 40 per packet.”Khoiwal, who has supplied nearly 50,000 pads to vendors in Bhopal, now plans to expand the facility, one of his associates said.

Neemuch district panchayat’s chief executive officer Bhavya Mittal has assured her support for this initiative.

However, ‘Padman’ has not just inspired Khoiwal. In March this year, 26-year-old Chitransh from Uttar Pradesh, set up a ‘PadBank’ for women. Under the initiative, every woman has a passbook which has her photograph and ID in the front and the months mentioned on the back. Every month they are given a pack of eight pads free of cost and the data for this distribution is maintained by Chitransh and his team. They make sure the sanitary pads reach the women before the dates of their period mentioned. If in any case, there is a delay, it is ensured that the women either call to avail the service or get pads from the centers set up – a medical center or a PadBank member’s home.

With only 18 percent of the women using sanitary pads in India, it must be a goal of the collective society to promote eco-friendly and safe menstrual protection methods for the welfare of women.

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Assam gov’t makes sanitary napkins mandatory in factories

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 08:23:25 +0000


Assam Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary. (Photo: ANI)

State cabinet minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Tuesday said that the Assam government has made mandatory for all factories and industries to keep sanitary napkins in a bid to promote hygiene among women, the New Indian Express reported.

“The government has made it mandatory for all factories and industries in the state to keep sanitary pads for the welfare of the working women,” Patowary, Minister for Industries and Commerce told the media.

The decision taken during the Assam Cabinet meeting chaired by CM Sarbananda Sonowal is expected to benefit thousands of women tea garden workers as they constitute a major portion of labour in tea estates.

Northeast Nowreports that the BJP-led government had last year implemented a scheme to give girls between the ages 12 – 20 years and from families with an annual income of less than Rs. 5 lakh, an annual stipend of Rs. 600 for purchasing sanitary napkins. To ensure easy access to hygienic menstrual products, the government had earmarked a sum of Rs. 30 crore with an aim of reaching out to reaching 5 lakh women in the year 2018 – 19.

Menstruation has always been a taboo topic for women across the country, more so in rural areas where families are struggling with providing their children an education and making ends meet. According to the National Health Survey Report, of the women in the age of 15 to 24 years in India, 42% use sanitary napkins, 62% use cloth and 16% use locally prepared napkins. Overall, 58% of women in this age group use a hygienic method of menstrual protection.

In Assam though, only about 41% from the same age group use hygienic methods of protection during their menstrual period. Rehna Sultana, an activist and a research scholar at Gauhati University said that more than 70% rural women still do not use sanitary pads, resulting in various diseases like pelvic inflammation and vaginal or urinary tract infections.

Poverty and the lack of awareness have been the two major reasons for women not using sanitary pads. Women activists working to spread menstrual hygiene in Assam have not only started distributing pads for free, but have also designed reusable pads which significantly bring down the cost for women who can purchase them.

Assam, which is also regularly ravaged by floods, sees its women struggling to maintain menstrual hygiene when they are in relief camps at such times. Apart from providing hygiene assistance, activists feel it is important to emphasize on eco-friendly products and other alternatives like the menstrual cup, especially in an absence of a proper waste disposal system in rural areas.

While the initiatives of the government hold promise, they need to be expansive in their implementation and reach women in all households so that menstrual hygiene becomes a reality.

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