Opinion Periods shouldn’t cost girls their education — the Supreme Court finally agrees
When even independent women wrap sanitary napkins in their handkerchiefs or slip them into their pockets to hide them, especially from male colleagues, the subject needs to break free from being a hushed topic
To give Indian girls wings to chase their dreams, it’s important to start with the wings of sanitary pads (Express Photo by Amit Mehra) January 30, 2026, did not go off as another Martyrs’ Day marking Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary. The day marked a significant first step that would go a long way in ensuring little “big” girls continue with their studies, without letting menstruation come in their way. The Supreme Court directed all states and Union Territories (UTs) to put in place Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) measures, including free sanitary napkins, in all government and private schools in the country.
Citing that menstrual health is a part of the right to life under Article 21, the bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan asked the Centre, states and UTs to ensure compliance within three months. The court also warned of stringent consequences under the Right to Education Act for non-compliance. Pointing out that the lack of measures on MHM subjects menstruating girls to “stigma, stereotyping and humiliation”, the Court said, “dignity cannot be reduced to an abstract ideal”.
Several challenges may come up when it comes to implementing the order, especially in cash-strapped schools that are struggling to provide basic facilities to their students. But in a country that still faces period poverty – lack of access to menstrual hygiene products and sanitation – the order is remarkable as it would have a positive impact on society’s chemistry towards its girls’ biology.
In the hinterlands, girls and women still fight the taboo around menstruation, along with managing the physical discomfort and pain. Hygiene is not an option for them; it goes on as an everyday battle with just one piece of old cloth and little water to clean and reuse it. Girls are forced to drop out or stay at home during their periods as sanitary facilities are beyond their reach. Women in the family who would be of their only help would be waging their share of battles on the same.
The struggle is worse where gender discrimination is more prevalent, where it is natural to neglect the basic needs of girls. They are allowed to be further discriminated against, shamed in the name of an organic process and forced to endure it all in silence. Menstruation tethered girls to shackles, without being able to talk about it openly or find resources to tackle it.
“The absence of MHM measures at school would lead to recurrent absenteeism, which would result in a gap in learning. Over a period of time, these gaps would translate into lower academic performance and reduced participation in classroom,” the Supreme Court said in its order. The gaps would, in turn, trigger sociological and psychological imbalances.
When even independent women wrap sanitary napkins in their handkerchiefs or slip them into their pockets to hide them, especially from male colleagues, the subject needs to break free from being a hushed topic. It couldn’t be any better than schools heralding the change. When the state and schools normalise menstruation and look upon it as a responsibility, girls’ battle with helplessness and indignity would ease. So far, menstruation has been just the “problem” of girls and women. Now they have got robust support from the country’s top court.
To give Indian girls wings to chase their dreams, it’s important to start with the wings of sanitary pads. The Supreme Court order would also catalyse a paradigm shift in societal perceptions towards menstruation and help annihilate the taboo associated with it.
yamini.nair@expressindia.com
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