Plea in HC to direct Delhi govt to restore providing sanitary napkins to girl students

New Delhi: A plea has been filed in the Delhi High Court, seeking a direction to the city government to forthwith restore the sanitary napkins facility for girl students in all government schools in the national capital. The PIL is likely to be heard on Monday.

The petition filed by NGO Social Jurist said since January 2021, the Directorate of Education (DoE) is not providing sanitary napkins under the Kishori Yojana to the girl students of Delhi government schools, due to which they are facing problems.

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The plea, filed through advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumar Utkarsh, submitted that the DoE had adopted the Kishori Yojana, whereby the girl students studying in the Delhi government schools were to be provided sanitary napkins to maintain their personal hygiene and general health and also to remove obstacles in their studies.

"DoE vide circulars...directed heads of government and government-aided schools to distribute sanitary napkins to girl students," it said.

The plea stressed that the restoration of the sanitary napkins facility for the girl students is extremely important for their personal hygiene and general health as in its absence, their education and attendance are adversely affected.

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It contended that the action on the part of the DoE not to provide sanitary napkins is irrational, unreasonable, arbitrary, violative of the fundamental right to education of girl students as guaranteed under the Constitution, read with the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act and the Delhi School Education Act.