Develop national model to set up girls' toilets across govt schools: SC to Centre
PTC News Desk: The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Monday that a draft national policy for the distribution of sanitary napkins to schoolgirls had been prepared and was being circulated to stakeholders for feedback.
In his appearance on behalf of the Centre, advocate Ameyavikrama Thanvi informed the Supreme Court of this fact.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and including justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra asked the Centre to inform them of the policy on the next date of the listing.
Meanwhile, the court directed the Centre to put in place a national model for installing girls' toilets in government schools.
The Centre had previously informed the court of its proposal to direct all states and UTs to make provisions for the availability of high-quality, low-cost sanitary pads and vending machines in schools.
Given the importance of the matter, the court had previously issued several directives, including one requiring all states to send the Union their menstrual hygiene policies, as well as low-cost sanitary napkins and safe disposal mechanisms.
The court was hearing a petition asking the court to order governments to provide free sanitary pads to girls in classes 6 to 12.
Jaya Thakur, a social activist, filed the petition with the help of lawyers Varinder Kumar Sharma and Varun Thakur.
According to the petitioner, adolescent females between the ages of 11 and 18 who come from low-income families face significant challenges.
"These are adolescent females who are not well-equipped and are also not educated by their parents about menstruation and menstrual hygiene. The deprived economic status and illiteracy leads to the prevalence of unhygienic and unhealthy practices which has serious health consequences; increases obstinacy and leads to eventual dropping out from schools," the petitioner stated.
- ANI
