Women in Indian prisons denied menstrual products despite rules

The United Nations rules on the treatment of women prisoners, known as the Bangkok Rules, state that prisons must have the facilities and materials to meet women's specific hygiene needs. These include free sanitary towels and a consistent supply of water. Despite this, period poverty and hygiene in prisons remain a problem in many countries, including India. According to a 2018 report, some prisons in India reportedly charge for sanitary napkins or only provide a set monthly number regardless of need. As a result, women are forced to use unsanitary materials such as cloth, pieces of old mattresses, and newspapers. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, or CHRI, report found that compliance with international and national standards varies by state and prison. Some prisons have adequate resources, while others require women to purchase pads from the canteen or rely on family members who visit them. Women resort to using clothes and rags in prisons where they were not provided with sanitary pads, posing a serious threat to their menstrual hygiene. The report also highlighted a general lack of awareness of women's rights and entitlements in prison. Lakshmi Murthy, additional director at Jatan Sansthan, an NGO based in Rajasthan, said: “Women in prison are sometimes even denied access to underpants.” “We've found women sharing panties and cloth rags occasionally. I have spoken to women in prisons who have interchanged used cloth pieces during menstruation,” she said Bharti Kannan, founder of Boondh, a social enterprise working on menstrual health management in Bangalore, said while some prisons follow protocols in the Bangkok rules, “prisons are mandated to provide not just pads but also ancillary material like underwear, soap, washing material that is sometimes unmet.” In response, NGOs and activists have ramped up their programs aimed at improving the Menstrual Health and Hygiene of the inmates. Maintaining supply The Spark Minda Foundation's Shakti Program provides free disposable sanitary napkins and menstrual hygiene supplies to female inmates through vending machines in 16 prisons in northern India. “Our focus is on women’s health at large. We understand that inmates should have more choices in terms of menstrual products. Along with disposable pads, we are planning to diversify the product range,” said Shivani Vashishth, deputy manager, sustainability and CSR at Spark Minda Foundation. Though Vashishth worries about supply once the project ends, she said prison officials say women are now more aware of their rights to these products and have started demanding them from the prison. Another program, Project Zariya, has started training women inmates to stitch reusable cloth pads in Udaipur prison in Rajasthan. Still, Radhika Somani, founder of Project Zariya, said “it is not simple” as providing materials such as scissors can be difficult in a jail setting. Another factor influencing menstrual management in prisons is a lack of proper disposal options for used sanitary pads. “We found that in some prisons there were no dustbins for the disposal of sanitary napkins during our visits. Sometimes women have reported keeping their soiled pads next to themselves at nighttime and disposing them post the barracks opening during the daytime,” Kannan said. To deal with disposal issues, some organizations have installed incinerators, but experts feel that these are not sustainable or user-friendly. Kannan said incinerators don’t comply with WHO standards, require electricity, and women inmates find them difficult to use. Murthy echoes these concerns. “Smaller incinerators can burn three to four pads at once. They release a strong odor during the process, which clogs the restrooms. In order to address this, some jails installed a chimney. But that is also ineffective,” she said. Dispelling myths Access is also not the only issue. Niharika Sharma, a co-founder at Kolkata-based organization Paint it Red said women in prisons are also unaware of menstrual hygiene management. “Many inmates come from resource-challenged backgrounds facing period poverty in their homes. Same menstruation illiteracy prevails even in prison settings. Women don’t know that flushing a pad could lead to clogging" she said. Murthy added that there are also taboos surrounding menstrual health in India that prevent women from engaging in safe menstrual management practices. These gaps prompted NGOs to develop programs to educate both inmates and staff in prisons about menstrual hygiene management. Both CHRI and Spark Minda Foundation, for example, run sensitization and awareness workshops for inmates and staff. CHRI collaborated with Boondh to conduct awareness sessions with women prisoners in Karnataka and Punjab. “The aim was to understand the needs of the inmates through these awareness sessions. One also needs to sensitize the staff, since they don’t look at prison inmates as menstruating bodies. Therefore, we also conducted trainings with prison training institutes,” Kannan said. Crucial Changes Kannan said there is a need for advocacy in other areas as well. “For instance, there is a lack of discourse around persons with disability and transgender persons,” she said. The Recommendations on Ensuring Menstrual Hygiene in Prisons highlight the steady and need-based supply of menstrual products. As per the report, it is critical to provide a variety of product options that reduce the financial and environmental burden of disposable sanitary pads. “Adding menstrual cups, cloth pads, and cloth pads that don't require panties emerged as suitable alternatives during discussions with both prisoners and staff,” Kannan said. As an option, Murthy believes we can teach prisoners to sew low-cost reusable sanitary napkins. Infrastructural changes in prisons are also necessary. “We must design spaces keeping in mind the requirements of disabled and transgender persons. In Punjab, I came across a physically challenged woman managing without assisted toilets,” Kannan said. Murthy said women also need separate sections within bathrooms for changing and washing. Apart from this, adequate water, cloth lines, and cloth pegs for drying menstrual cloth and tubs to soak menstrual cloth are crucial. Kannan added that the management of menstrual pain is another area that needs attention. “During the sessions, women share many woes around the periods. Some even complain of green colour discharge,” she said. Therefore, the CHRI report recommends an appointment of a female medical officer for women's enclosures. Alternatively, prisons must collaborate with the government hospital to ensure a weekly visit by a gynecologist. Sharma said things are happening sporadically. “Sustained efforts and research is required to meet the Menstrual Health and Hygiene needs of the women in prisons. Mental health through the lens of reproductive health is another area that needs serious attention,” she said.