Bengaluru, 25 August

Students at the Dr Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University (BCU) launched a campaign on Tuesday to demand that free sanitary pads are placed in every college washroom. 

Under the ‘Free Sanitary Pads In Every College Washrooms (FSPECW)’ campaign, the students also called for machines sanitary pad dispensers and disposal machines or covered bins in every stall so girls and women can dispose of their products “safely and privately”.

In a statement, the BCU students noted that the lack of on-site products and often insensitive handling by college staff causes “humiliation, missed classes, and anxiety”. They cited an example where a PUC student requested a male staff member in a college medical room for a sanitary pad after getting her period. The statement alleged that the manner in which the male staff member gave the student the pad left her feeling ashamed and “deeply uncomfortable”.

The statement said that providing free sanitary products was possible through partnerships between the State government or colleges with local suppliers and recurring budget allocations. The students suggested initiating pilot programmes in select colleges to garner feedback before expanding to all colleges. 

“We are not pushing this because girls are helpless — we are pushing it because they deserve dignity, privacy, and uninterrupted access to education,” the statement read.