SC issues notice on plea to frame guidelines over 'menstruation checks'

The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and the Haryana government on a petition highlighting the alleged humiliation of three female sanitation workers at Maharshi Dayanand University MDU in Rohtak who were reportedly forced to furnish photographic proof of menstruation to their supervisorsA bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan issued notice on the writ petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association SCBA under Article 32 of the ConstitutionThe matter now scheduled for hearing on December 15 raises concerns about protecting womenrsquos rights to health dignity privacy and bodily autonomy in workplaces and educational institutions during menstruation or related gynaecological issuesThe plea stems from an incident reported on October 26 when the three sanitation workers called in on a Sunday due to the visit of the Haryana Governor were allegedly verbally abused humiliated and pressured by supervisors hired through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam LimitedAccording to the petition the supervisors demanded photographic proof from the workers by asking them to send photos of their sanitary padsDuring the hearing Justice Nagarathnaled Bench remarked that the episode reflected a mindset that was deeply troublingIn Karnataka they are giving period leave After reading this I thought mdash will they ask for proof for giving the leave observed Justice NagarathnaThis shows the mentality of the person If some heavy work could not be done because of their absence somebody else could have been deployed the apex court added expressing hope that something good will happen in this petitionFollowing the incident the MDU had suspended the two supervisors and initiated an internal inquiry The Haryana State Commission for Women also took suo motu cognisance and sought reports from the varsity administration and the Rohtak policeThe Assistant Registrar and the two supervisors were subsequently booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to assault and outraging the modesty of a womanCalling the episode ldquodisturbingrdquo the SCBA in its petition said such acts amounted to a violation of the womenrsquos fundamental right to life dignity privacy and bodily integrity under Article 21The plea also referred to similar instances of periodshaming and invasive checks in schools and workplaces over the years including a 2017 case where 70 girls in Uttar Pradesh were allegedly stripped naked to check for menstrual blood and a 2020 incident in Gujarat where 68 college students were asked to remove their underwear for inspectionFiled through advocate Pragya Baghel the petition has sought directions to the Centre and the Haryana government to conduct a detailed inquiry into the Rohtak incident and issue nationwide guidelines to ensure that the right to health dignity bodily autonomy and privacy of women and girls is not violated when they are going through menstruation and related gynaecological issues at workplaces and educational institutionsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever