Policy on menstrual hygiene for female school students framed, approved: Centre to Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday informed the Supreme Court of framing the "Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School Going Girls" approved by the Union Health Ministry.

The Centre referred to a top court order of April 10, 2023, and said the Union Ministry of the Health and Family Welfare framed the policy over menstrual hygiene of female school children which was approved by the minister concerned on November 2, 2024.

The top court was hearing a PIL filed by Congress leader and social activist Jaya Thakur seeking directions to the Centre and states to provide free sanitary pads to female students between Classes 6 and 12 and ensure separate female toilet facilities in all government, government-aided and residential schools.

"This policy aims to mainstream menstrual hygiene within the school system of the government to bolster change in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours, among schoolgirls, overcoming the barriers of low awareness that often restrict their freedom, mobility and participation in daily activities," the affidavit, filed in the pending matter, stated.

It said the policy enables coverage, needing assessment through appropriate levels of survey mechanisms that can be undertaken by states and union territories followed by gap filling, so that students in government and aided schools had regular access to menstrual hygiene products.

The Centre said the policy aimed at dissipating harmful social norms and promote safe menstrual hygiene practices, besides enabling environment-friendly management of menstrual waste.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Pankaj Mithal, is scheduled to hear the PIL on October 12.

The Centre previously informed the apex court that over 97.5 per cent schools in the country, including government, state-aided and private ones, provided separate toilets facilities for female students.

States and union territories, such as Delhi, Goa and Puducherry, achieved 100 per cent targets and complied with the previous court orders, it added.

It also informed the court that 16 lakh toilets for boys and 17.5 lakh toilets for girls were constructed in over 10 lakh government schools apart from 2.5 lakh toilets for boys and 2.9 lakh toilets for girls in government-aided schools.

The Centre pointed out that in West Bengal, separate toilet facilities were provided for female students in 99.9 per cent schools and in Uttar Pradesh, 98.8 per cent schools had such separate facilities.

According to the Centre, the figures stood at 99.7 per cent in Tamil Nadu, 99.6 per cent in Kerala, 99.5 per cent in Sikkim, Gujarat, Punjab, 99.6 per cent in Chhattisgarh, 98.7 per cent in Karnataka, 98.6 per cent in Madhya Pradesh, 97.8 per cent in Maharashtra, 98 per cent in Rajasthan, 98.5 per cent in Bihar and 96.1 per cent in Odisha.

The northeastern states lag behind the national average of 98 per cent, the Centre said, adding even Jammu and Kashmir provided separate toilet facilities for female students in 89.2 per cent schools.

On July 8, the Centre said a national policy on the distribution of menstrual hygiene products to adolescent female students was at an advanced stage of formulation.

The PIL plea moved by Thakur, through advocate Varun Thakur, highlighted the difficulties faced by adolescent female students from underprivileged backgrounds in schools.

The Centre previously informed the court that it was in the process of collating all necessary material to form a national policy on the distribution of menstrual hygiene products to female school students in terms of the court's orders dated April 10, 2023 and November 6, 2023.

The top court directed the Centre to frame a national model for building toilets commensurate with the number of female students in all government-aided and residential schools in the country.

While emphasising a uniform procedure, it also asked the Centre about the national policy it formulated for the distribution of sanitary napkins to female school students.

On April 10, the court appointed the secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as the nodal officer to coordinate with the states and union territories, and collect relevant data for formulating a national policy.