“Public health is a powerful tool to level that playing field, to bend the arc of our country away from distrust and disparities and back towards equity and justice” – Leana S. Wen

“The Central government and its agencies are not the implementing bodies for schemes relating to menstrual health, and it is the states and their agencies which are at the forefront of enforcement of the policies. It is submitted that public health is a state subject and the responsibility of providing healthcare services is that of respective state governments”, Centre in an affidavit replied.

A Public Interest Litigation was filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur seeking the issuance of directions for providing free sanitary pads to girls studying in classes 6 to 12 in government schools across the country. “These are adolescent females who are not equipped with 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, increase obstinacy and leads to eventual dropping out from schools,” the plea stated.

Further, the affidavit filed by the centre stated, “The government is dedicated to increasing awareness among adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene, build self-esteem and empower girls for better socialisation. The government is also working towards increasing access to and use of high-quality sanitary napkins for girls in rural areas.” It also clarified that the government has approved more than Rs 197 crores for the year 2022-23, so the implementation would be easy.