The Supreme Court recently sought the response of the Union government on a petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) seeking nationwide guidelines to protect women’s privacy and dignity in workplaces and educational institutions against practices amounting to “period shaming".
A Bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued notice to the Central government and the State of Haryana on the plea which was filed after reports emerged that female sanitation workers at Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak were allegedly asked to send photographs of their sanitary pads to prove they were menstruating when they applied for leave.
Appearing for the SCBA, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh told the Court that the issue was deeply concerning and required urgent judicial intervention. He said that incidents of such nature violated the fundamental rights to dignity, privacy and bodily autonomy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
“This is a gross criminal case. It’s a subject that needs attention,” Singh submitted.The counsel appearing for the State of Haryana informed the Court that the matter has been referred to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the university which had completed its report. Following the inquiry, one assistant registrar has been suspended and further proceedings have been initiated against two contractual workers through their agency, the state counsel told the Court.“This certainly can’t be tolerated,” the State’s counsel said.
The bench noted that the case reflected a larger social problem and the deep-seated biases that still shape attitudes toward menstruation.“This reflects the mindset,” Justice Nagarathna observed.She remarked that while some States such as Karnataka had introduced progressive measures like menstrual leave, such instances showed how far societal attitudes still had to evolve.“In Karnataka, they are giving period leave. After reading this, I thought will they now ask proof for giving the leave?” she said.
Singh told the Court that he would prepare a draft set of suggested guidelines to ensure that the dignity of menstruating women is preserved in all institutional settings.“Let them respond to this. Meanwhile, I will also think of guidelines that can be suggested. It’s a subject that nobody wants to talk about,” Singh said.
The Bench, while issuing notice, appreciated the SCBA for raising the issue and taking up a matter concerning women’s dignity and privacy at work.“We appreciate the SCBA for taking up the matter. We have perused the grievances in the writ petition. Issue notice to the respondents,” the Court ordered.
The Bench further noted that the incident pointed to an entrenched mentality that viewed women’s biological processes as impediments rather than natural conditions requiring empathy and understanding.This shows the mentality of the persons. If some heavy work could not be done because of their absence, somebody else could have been deployed. We hope something good will happen in this petition,” Justice Nagarathna said.The Court proceeded to list the matter for further hearing on December 15.
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