The Supreme Court declared menstrual hygiene as a fundamental right, urging the government to take immediate action and provide adequate facilities in remote areas to improve education for adolescent girls.
Key points
The Supreme Court's decision prioritizes the fundamental right of menstrual hygiene.: The Supreme Court's decision prioritizes the fundamental right of menstrual hygiene.
The government must address the barriers in remote areas to ensure educational opportunit…: The government must address the barriers in remote areas to ensure educational opportunities for adolescent girls.
The court's concern highlights the need for effective implementation to address the issue.: The court's concern highlights the need for effective implementation to address the issue.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
A division bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on Thursday expressed concern that the judgement could remain merely on paper without effective implementation on the ground, particularly in remote areas where adolescent girls continue to face barriers to education because of inadequate menstrual hygiene facilities. "We have declared menstrual hygiene as a fundamental right. In other words, we have declared menstrual hygiene as one of the facets of Article 21 of the Constitution," the bench observed.
The bench directed the central government to take up the matter seriously with every state and Union Territory and obtain written information detailing the steps taken to comply with the court's directions.
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