The Supreme Court issued notices to the Central and Haryana governments.
Haryana: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Central Government, the Haryana government, and others on a petition that asked female sanitation workers at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) in Rohtak to prove their menstruation by submitting photographs of their private parts.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan said, “This shows the mindset of those involved. If a heavy workload could not be completed due to their absence, someone else could have been hired. We hope this petition will yield some good.” The bench also asked the Central Government, the Haryana government, and other respondents to file their responses to the Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) petition. Justice Nagarathna said, “This shows the mindset. In Karnataka, they are providing period leave. After reading this, I thought they would ask for proof of leave,” and posted the matter for hearing on December 15.
The order came after SCBA President and senior advocate Vikas Singh called it a major criminal case that required the court’s attention. Alleging similar incidents in other states, Singh said, “This cannot be tolerated. Let them respond to this and I will make some suggestions… I am also trying to think about what guidelines can be adopted for the entire country… This is a very serious issue and it is a subject that unfortunately no one wants to talk about.”
The Haryana government’s lawyer said that an investigation has been initiated and action has been taken against two people and the assistant registrar, who was the administrative head. Calling it a “massive violation of the dignity, privacy, and bodily autonomy” of women and girls in institutional settings across the country, the SCBA has sought guidelines to ensure that the rights to health, dignity, bodily autonomy, and privacy are not violated. The petition cites several news reports highlighting the “period shaming” of women in educational institutions and government offices.
The SCBA said, “…women and girls are subjected to forceful and humiliating examinations in various institutional settings to determine whether they are menstruating, which is a blatant violation of their right to life, dignity, privacy, and bodily integrity under Article 21 of the Constitution. Women workers, especially unorganized workers, have the right to decent working conditions that respect their biological differences and provide them with adequate flexibility so that they are not subjected to humiliating examinations in case of menstrual pain and discomfort.”
The alleged incident occurred on October 26, when Governor Asim Kumar Ghosh was scheduled to visit the campus. In a complaint to MDU officials, three female sanitation workers alleged that two supervisors first forced them to clean the complex despite being told they were “unwell,” and then asked them to prove they were menstruating. The women alleged that the supervisors told them they were following orders from the assistant registrar.
