HYDERABAD: A 12-year-old girl studying at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya in Ibrahimpatnam complained on Sunday that she was denied sanitary napkins by the school authorities. The child was rescued from a household where she was working as a dometic labourer and was also subjected to physical abuse by all the family members. She attended a bridge school set up by an NGO after which she was mainstreamed and sent to KGBV.
According to sources, the child who hit puberty last month requested for sanitary napkins recently ahead of her next menstrual cycle and she was denied. She also stated that the KGBV authorities in turn asked her to make a purchase using `100, which every child at KGBV is given as allowance every month. However, she hasn’t received this money too for months now.
The child also shared that none of the children were being provided with sanitary napkins in the KGBV which has close to 200 children. It is, however, unclear as to how many children need them. “The children should be provided with sanitary napkins when requested. KGBVs are residential schools and there is no chance for children to step out and purchase them,” pointed out V Padmavathi, chairperson, CWC.