Right to Menstrual Dignity: A natural process should never invite punishment

Monika Dogra

monika.scertjd@gmail.com

Governments must move beyond symbolic campaigns and invest in sustained menstrual health education that reaches schools, families, teachers, health workers, and village communities alike.

On March 20, Maharashtra's Nashik Divisional Board issued a show-cause notice to a woman invigilator after the State Board Chairman, Trigum Kulkarni, described an incident in which an SSC student taking her board exam was allegedly denied permission to use the washroom after she had started menstruating.

The girl, according to a Times of India report, was forced to sit through the remaining hour of the examination. "Natural processes should not be curtailed. There is no rule that says students cannot use the washroom during the exam," Kulkarni said. "Teachers should allow students to use the washroom." What is more surprising is that the invigilator, being a female herself, could not grasp the gravity of the situation, and that it was the male member of the board, the chairman in this case, who issued a clarification, when it should have been the other way round.

The incident is not an aberration but sits within a wider cultural context. In parts of Maharashtra, menstruating women are still treated as impure, subjected to restrictions, and, in some cases, isolated from their homes during their periods.

One of India's largest and most influential impact-driven platforms, The Better India, carries an October 2025 report by Krystelle Dsouza titled "Why are they confined to huts for menstruating," which documents how menstruating women are forced into kurma ghars-a practice rooted in deep-seated stigma and unsafe traditions.

The report notes that these practices persist in tribal pockets of Maharashtra, particularly among Gadchiroli's Gond and Madiya communities, where "periods are still seen as a sin, menstruation as ungodly."

It further describes the "punishment" as banishment to cramped, thatched huts on village fringes-dingy dwellings without doors, windows, or sanitation, exposed to harsh weather and vulnerable to scorpions, snakes, and stray animals.

Nothing seems to have changed for the menstruating women as Gagandeep Kaur, in a 2015 Guardian report, documents similar treatment by confining women in Maharashtra to makeshift huts under the practice of "gaokor", stripped of basic dignity.

When a menstruating student from the same state is denied access to a washroom during an examination, it echoes these deeply ingrained attitudes rather than standing apart from them.

The Guardian article cites a chilling survey.

"We visited 223 gaokors in tribal areas and nearly 98% lack even a proper bed, let alone electricity and other basic amenities," Dr Dilip Barsagade, a member of the survey team pointed out. "Most of the gaokors have temporary bathrooms made with bamboo."

The findings, later brought to the notice of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRM), lay bare the stark conditions in which menstruating women are forced to live.

An estimated 23% of girls in India drop out of school once they begin menstruating, a reality closely tied to practices that force them into isolation.

"Girls confined to gaokor huts often miss school days, disrupting their education at a critical stage," Dr Barsagade finds out. "Many menstruating girls are unable to sit for their examinations because of these restrictions, which in turn explains why so few from such regions continue their studies beyond matriculation."

The girl in question, in an attempt to break the taboo, was met not with support but with not only an indifferent attitude from the invigilator, but effectively a punishment-a "gaokor" of a different sort within the walls of a government-run school, an institution supposedly meant to challenge such outdated notions. The emotional burden of being denied a basic right at such a vulnerable moment must weigh heavily on her, as she had placed her trust in the school, only to be confronted with this indifference.

Accountability should have extended beyond the teacher; the entire board ought to have been put on notice.

Different studies and surveys conducted each year document the same reality. A 2024 cross-sectional study by Shafique Ahmed and colleagues on adolescent girls in an urban area of North India highlights that most young women face numerous restrictions, which intensify during menstruation.

Despite extensive research, the study notes a lack of comprehensive data on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of adolescent girls regarding menstruation.

The problem is further compounded by social stigma, restrictions on diet and movement, and widespread misinformation.

While Government programmes such as Swachh Bharat Mission and initiatives like SAATHIYA have contributed to improving awareness, their overall effectiveness continues to be constrained by entrenched cultural attitudes and gaps in basic infrastructure across rural areas.

A survey conducted by this author across 10 villages in Jammu District, using a cross-sectional field study design with structured questionnaires and in-person interviews, reveals a similar pattern on the ground. Adolescent girls continue to face restrictions during menstruation, often missing school and internalising stigma reinforced by silence and misinformation. Basic menstrual hygiene facilities remain inadequate, and conversations around the subject remain limited.

The findings mirror broader national trends, underscoring how deeply embedded attitudes and infrastructural gaps continue to shape the experiences of young girls in rural settings.

In a landmark decision in 2023, the Supreme Court of India ruled that schools must provide toilets and menstrual products for all menstruating students. At the heart of this judgment lies Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees every citizen the right to life, personal liberty, and dignity.

Changing laws alone will not end the discrimination surrounding menstruation. The challenge is cultural as much as institutional. Governments must move beyond symbolic campaigns and invest in sustained menstrual health education that reaches schools, families, teachers, health workers, and village communities alike.

Menstrual literacy should become an integral part of the school curriculum for both girls and boys, helping replace myths with scientific understanding from an early age.

Teacher training is equally critical. Every teacher and invigilator should receive mandatory sensitisation on menstrual health and students' rights so that incidents such as this are never repeated. Schools must also be equipped with clean, functional toilets, emergency menstrual products, and clear protocols that place the dignity and wellbeing of students above rigid interpretations of examination discipline.

Non-governmental organisations have an equally important role to play. Because they traditionally work at the grassroots level, their presence enables them to engage communities that government campaigns often fail to reach.

Ultimately, menstruation is neither a matter of shame nor a disciplinary issue. It is a biological reality experienced by millions of girls and women every month. A society that still punishes girls for a natural bodily process is not merely denying them comfort. It is denying them dignity, equality, and, in many cases, their education. That is a failure no modern democracy should be willing to accept.

(The author is a senior academic officer at State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Jammu)