Menstrual health and dignity --aligning policy with rights in India

New Indian Express

28-05-2025

On the Menstrual Hygiene Day (May 28), campaigns and organisations are amplifying efforts to advocate even more vociferously for the adequate redressal of menstrual health challenges. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India has asked the Central Government to frame a model policy on menstrual leave. This is a watershed moment for addressing menstrual health as a fundamental human right rather than 'women's personal issue.' The order comes in light of the millions of menstruators in the country who still face discrimination, manage menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) with inadequate infrastructure and encounter stigma that undermines the constitutional rights.
By the Constitution of India, we, as citizens, irrespective of whether an individual is a person with uterus or not, are guaranteed that the State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds including sex (Article 15), Right to Life and Personal Liberty which includes Right to Dignity (Article 21) is also envisaged in the Constitution along with the Right to Education (Article 21 A)- all of which implicitly support menstrual health and hygiene(MHH) rights. However, there are myriads of systemic inequities, including social and cultural taboos and stigma, that undermine these principles.
India is a signatory to multiple international human rights frameworks that should protect menstrual rights -- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which establishes the right to dignity (Article 1), health (Article 25) and education (Article 26), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which India has committed to achieving by 2030.Yet, menstrual health remains inadequately addressed because there is a stark gap between the Constitutional Rights as well as international obligations India is committed to upholdvis-à-vis lived realities of menstruators on the ground.
Reflecting on my campaigning journey of over four years since launching the menstrual awareness and equity campaign, Alharh, in Bhagalpur, Bihar in December 2019, I have seen our humble youth-led initiative steadily grow to reach nearly 4000 people. Yet, even today, the voices from the ground remain dishearteningly similar: a tale of shame and stigma that represents clear violations of fundamental rights.
During one of our community events, 'KhullamKhulla Baat Karenge', silence spoke louder than those who actually spoke. Fourteen-year-old Khushi confessed that she kept mum at the event because she was too shy to speak about periods in public. However, she listened. Weeks later, she volunteered at the campaign, mentioning: 'Since that day, I feel compelled to notice the discrimination we face, even within our own homes simply because we menstruate.' Inspired to break taboos within her own home, she deliberately entered her kitchen, a space she was not 'allowed' to enter during her menstrual days and touched the pickle. This small but significant act empowered her tremendously. Nervous yet determined, she also sent pictures of her holding sanitary pads as an attempt to normalize the stigmatized and the unspeakable. This was no small change.