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PIL seeks sanitary napkins be declared essential commodity, HC asks Centre to respond
The petition, filed through advocate Vinod Sangvikar, highlighted the plight of thousands of women and adolescent girls travelling with migrant workers amid the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
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The Bombay high court on Friday directed the Central government to respond by next Friday to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking an order declaring sanitary napkins an essential commodity and their inclusion in the public distribution system.
A division bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice KK Tated took up the PIL jointly filed by law graduate Nikita Gore, who works as a research assistant at the Aurangabad bench of the high court, and law student Vaishnavi Gholave.
The petition, filed through advocate Vinod Sangvikar, highlighted the plight of thousands of women and adolescent girls travelling with migrant workers amid the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown.
It said measures have been put in place to meet different needs of the travelling migrant workers, but there is complete neglect on the need for sanitary napkins among menstruating women.
Highlighting the need for easy access to sanitary napkins, the petition said hygienic menstrual absorbents help adolescent girls and women to manage menstruation effectively, safely, comfortably and fearlessly.
The freedom from the fear of leakage or unpleasant odour increases their ability to be at school or the workplace during menstruation, it added.
Woman cannot predict when menstruation will start and there should be easy availability and supply of sanitary pads and clothes at the family level and at schools and workplaces, it further said.
The petition added that for hygienic and proper menstruation management, a system should be evolved, consisting of easy access to hygienic absorbents and availability of facilities for cleaning and disposal of used absorbents or waste with privacy and dignity.
The petitioners said sanitary napkins are an essential requirement for every woman, and women should have the right to get them at cheaper rates, since, on an average, a woman spends about 3,000 days of her life menstruating. Any lack of cleanliness during this period may lead to infections, they argued.
The petitioners also sought proper implementation of national guidelines for menstrual hygiene management issued in 2015 by the Union ministry of drinking water and sanitation.
