CHENNAI: The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has recommended disciplinary action against R Rajalakshmi, Superintendent, Special Prison for Women, Tiruchy for not providing sanitary napkins to inmates of special prison for women, Tiruchy.
The commission member D Jaychandran, during his inspection of the prison in April this year found that the 98 women inmates did not have access to sanitary napkins from November 2016 and were asked to get
them from visiting relatives. On this basis, the commission took suo motu cognisance of the issue and an action taken report was sought from the authorities concerned.
The Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Chennai, one of the respondents in the case, submitted that under the Menstrual Hygiene Programme, sanitary napkins were supplied to the prison. The
Additional Director General of Police (Prisons), submitted that the prison department received a sum of 1100 packs of napkins from one “Sevai”, a voluntary service organization.
On Friday, after perusing the documents submitted by the authorities SHRC member Jayachandran observed that Rajalakshmi failed to procure and provide sanitary napkins to the inmates according to the
government orders and created false documents to show that she had procured and delivered them. The commission also recommended the government to initiate disciplinary action against her.
The commission also recommended that the government extends the implementation of the Menstrual Hygiene Programme for adolescent girls to the urban areas too.