In a bid to protect the rights of women, two law students have moved the Bombay High Court seeking the listing of sanitary pads as an 'essential product' and further making it available to women at cheaper rates. The students have further sought the withdrawal of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) imposed on the raw material used in the manufacture of sanitary pads.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Kamalkishor Tated has ordered the Union government to spell out its stand on the issue by next Friday.
The bench was dealing with a petition filed by Nikita Ghole, 26, and Vaishnavi Gholave, 23, both law students and residents of Aurangabad. The duo moved the HC through advocate Vinod Sangvikar, urging the bench to issue directions to the authorities to provide sanitary napkins at cheaper rates, especially during the present lockdown period, which has resulted in a steep shortage in their supply.
"The lockdown was announced in March 2020. Ever since, people are migrating to their hometowns. There are various facilities provided by the government to these migrants but there is a complete negligence on their part towards providing sanitation facilities for menstruating women," the petition reads.
"During this period of pandemic various High Courts have taken cognizance of the sufferings of the migrants about food, shelter etc but no reference has been made regarding the Menstrual Hygiene of Women (MHW), a topic which is always neglected and ignored and as a result women have suffered a lot since ancient times," the plea states further.
The petition further reads that on an average, a girl or a woman menstruates for over 3,000 days of her life, it is of utmost importance for them to maintain hygiene.
Unless hygiene is practised during menstruation, there could be serious issues such as fungal or bacterial infections in the reproductive and urinary tracts, the plea points out.
The law students have further accused the government authorities of being negligent about this issue and turning a blind eye to the sufferings of women. However, after 2005, some steps have been taken in this regard, the petitioners argue.
The plea further highlights the imposition of the GST and the subsequent deletion of this item from the ambit of the GST.
"On one hand, the government has removed sanitary pads from GST ambit but on the other, it has imposed GST at the rate of 12-18 % on the input raw materials. This speaks volumes about the intentions of the government," the girls have pointed out.
"Therefore, the cost of the sanitary napkin has increased and hence, not all women can afford it. It is the essential requirement of every woman and they have the right to get it at a cheaper rate, as an essential commodity," the petition argues.
The plea states that there has been infringement of most of the fundamental rights of women in India since Independence because of the negligence and ignorance on the part of the Union and state governments.
"It is the duty of the state to provide several measures to improve public health and for doing so, it is also necessary to implement the MHW scheme, 2011, which recommends a slew of measures to ensure hygienic menstruation," the plea states.
"Therefore, it is high time the court exercises its power under the Constitution of India and to protect the right of the women," the plea adds.
