NEW DELHI: Indian jails have no menstrual hygiene management in place despite 80 percent menstruating women lodged in prisons, according to a study.
Most prisons don’t provide unlimited free sanitary pads, hot water, proper waste disposal or any sensitisation programme for menstrual health management, either for prisoners or staff, according to a first such study conducted by CHRI and NGO Boondh.
The study, conducted in 11 prisons, including two each in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, and one in Karnataka, found that as no law stipulates free, unlimited sanitary menstrual products, including disposable pads, women in these prisons have different levels of access to sanitary pads– from 25 to eight pads.
None of the prisons in seven states reported offering other types of menstrual products, the report by Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and Boondh, which works on menstrual literacy, policy, advocacy, programming, activism and sustainable products.
Also, all the prisons get ‘one size’ sanitary pads for all its women inmates, the report said, which focused on women prisons and excluded menstruating prisoners who are housed in enclosures in male prisons.
It found a lack of data on the amount of water available to women inmates, as many prisons are not measuring the amount of water they have.
“No prison rules contain provisions for providing hot water to women prisoners to manage menstruation. It is provided only when the medical officer recommends it on the grounds of health issues or if requested by the woman prisoner,” the report said.
The disposal of menstrual hygiene materials is often overlooked, to the detriment of both women and the facilities, said the report.
Madhurima Dhanuka, Programme Head, Prison Reforms Programme, CHRI, said, “Menstrual hygiene management is an issue less discussed in India, and even lesser in the context of prisons.”
“The difficulties of managing one's period in prison for menstruating prisoners need more attention. From our experience, several issues are faced - from quality and quantity of sanitary products to their proper waste disposal, to managing pain and seeking medical assistance from specialised doctors - every prison which lodges women prisoners needs a closer look,” she told this newspaper.
“We call upon government departments and commissions this International Women's Day to take affirmative measures to address the needs of women prisoners, particularly about their menstrual hygiene and reproductive health, to ensure that they are not left behind,” she added.
The study suggested that women's prisons should stock various types and sizes of menstrual products.
As women experience menstruation differently, wherever possible, there should be a choice of products to use, such as sanitary pads, menstrual cups, and tampons, it said.
The Prison Statistics India (PSI) 2021 states that there are 22,918 women prisoners in India, comprising 4.13 per cent of the total prison population. Of these, only 16.5 per cent are confined in women's prisons in 15 states, while the rest are contained in women's enclosures, areas demarcated inside male prisons.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development, in its Women in Prisons Report, 2018, has stated that most women are either 30-50 years old (50.5%) or 18-30 years old (31.3%).
“This means that over 80% of women in prisons are people who menstruate and are in the active stages of the menstruating life cycle (from menarche to menopause),” said Sugandha Shankar, Senior Programme Officer, Access to Justice Programme, Prison Reforms, CHRI.
She said the Model Prison Manual 2016 states that ‘Sterilised sanitary pads should be issued to women prisoners as per their requirements’; however, the practice differs from state to state and prison to prison.
“While there are prisons that provide sanitary napkins free of cost without limits on the quantity, others only offer a fixed number of pads to menstruating women. In some prisons, women must buy pads from the canteen or rely on family members who visit them,” she added.
“There is no conversation on the need for different sizes of sanitary pads or the availability of other menstrual products that the women prisoners may need,” Shankar told this newspaper.
However, in the absence of a standard policy for Indian jails on menstrual hygiene management, some women's prisons have taken some measures.
One of them is Women Prison and Correctional Home, Kannur in Kerala, which gives 20 pads with the possibility to get additional when required.
Similarly, the Special Prison for Women, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, follows the bio-medical waste management rules and provides separate dustbins with lids and safe biomedical bags in all blocks and the staff room. The bags are then sent to the relevant environmental waste department.
In Bhagalpur (Bihar), an electric induction stove is used by women prisoners and in Sambalpur (Odisha), one water geyser (15 ltr Capacity) has been installed for about 20 women inmates.
Inadequate facilities
