Menstrual Hygiene And The Right To Health: Bridging Law, Policy, And Social Realities
- IJLLR Journal
- 5 days ago
- 1 min read
Dr. Rajni Kaushal, Assistant Professor, Starex University, Gurugram.
Dr. Bushra Khan, Assistant Professor, Starex University, Gurugram.
ABSTRACT
Menstrual hygiene is an essential yet often neglected dimension of the right to health and human dignity, particularly affecting women and menstruating persons in developing societies. Within the Indian constitutional framework, the right to health is implicitly protected under Article 21, encompassing access to sanitation, healthcare, and conditions necessary for a dignified life. Despite policy initiatives and welfare schemes addressing menstrual hygiene management, deep-rooted social taboos, inadequate awareness, infrastructure deficits, and unequal access continue to impede the effective realization of this right.
This paper adopts a socio-legal and doctrinal approach to examine menstrual hygiene as a human rights issue situated at the intersection of law, public health, gender justice, and social norms. It analyses constitutional provisions, statutory frameworks, judicial pronouncements, and governmental policies to assess the extent to which the legal system recognizes and protects menstrual health. The study argues that while policy measures indicate growing institutional acknowledgment, the absence of explicit legal recognition and persistent societal stigma create a gap between normative commitments and lived realities. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for explicit rights-based legal recognition, effective implementation, and social sensitization, thereby contributing to the emerging constitutional discourse on menstrual health in India.
Keywords: Menstrual hygiene, Right to health, Article 21, Gender justice, Human dignity, India
