Family of a class XI girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district has alleged that she was punished in school for asking for a sanitary napkin
The shocking incident in Bareilly where a class XI girl was allegedly punished for asking for a sanitary napkin and forced to go home with blood on her clothes has laid bare the continued barriers to women’s access to hygienic period products in India.
The girl, according to the complaint, had gone to school on January 25 to sit for an examination when her periods started. She had asked for a sanitary napkin but that allegedly upset the principal so much that she was made to stand outside the classroom. The family has complained to the District Magistrate, the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), the State Women’s Commission, and the Department of Women’s Welfare. The incident comes despite a directive issued last year by the ministry of education that mandated that schools must make sanitary napkins available for girls at all times, including during class X and class XII examinations. “Menstrual hygiene management is a significant aspect of a girl’s overall well-being and should not come in the way of her academic performance,” schools had been told.
A study published last year in Nature had found that 76.15% of Indian women aged between 15-24 years used hygienic period products only. In rural India the number was found to be 72.32%. This means that nearly 24% Indian women and over 27% rural Indian women use other unhygienic options like cloth sometimes or all the time when they are menstruating. Menstruating women are more vulnerable to infections of the respiratory tract and use of unhygienic products may increase their chances of contracting an infection.
“…the persistent stigma surrounding menstruation continues to pose significant challenges for women, adversely impacting their health and educational outcomes. Government schemes exist, but there are still gaps in menstrual hygiene that need greater and more nuanced attention. Neglecting proper hygiene practices during menstruation can lead to various health problems such as cervical cancer, reproductive tract infections, Hepatitis B infection, yeast infections, and urinary tract infections. In more severe cases, toxic shock syndrome can even lead to death. Moreover, the lack of access to clean toilets and sanitary products in schools contributes to school dropout rates among girls, particularly in rural areas,” researchers had reported.
Menstruation remains a period shrouded in stigma in many parts of the country. The practice of isolating menstruating women continues in many parts of the country; in some areas they are required to sleep in a separate structure outside their homes during these days when they are considered “impure”.
