Kota: A disruption in the supply of free sanitary pads to govt schools across Rajasthan has left thousands of girl students without access to menstrual hygiene products for nearly a year, forcing schools to rely on limited emergency arrangements.Teachers in several districts said fresh supplies have not reached schools since the current academic session began in April.“There has been no fresh supply of sanitary pads to the school for nearly a year. The last supply was received in 2025, and that ran out before the fresh session began,” a lecturer at a govt girls’ senior secondary school in Bundi told TOI.The person in charge of sanitary pad distribution at Mahatma Gandhi Govt Senior Secondary School in Jhalawar said authorities submitted updated beneficiary data and demand estimates in April-May, but existing stocks were exhausted, forcing the school to arrange limited supplies on its own during emergencies.The sanitary pads are supplied to govt girls’ schools, hostels and anganwadi centres by Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Ltd through the Directorate of Women Empowerment.The principal of a govt girls’ senior secondary school in Baran told TOI that the school, which has 1,050 girl students, received some stock during the 2024-25 academic session, but no fresh supplies have arrived since April. “Even when supplies arrived in previous years, staff and students complained of the supplied pads being severely deficient in quality, offering poor absorption and risking infection,” she added.The ‘I Am Shakti Udaan’ scheme was launched in Sept 2022 by the then Ashok Gehlot-led govt, which promised free and regular distribution of sanitary pads in govt schools and anganwadi centres with an outlay of Rs 200 crore.The disruption comes despite the Supreme Court’s Jan 2026 ruling that access to menstrual hygiene products is a fundamental right under Article 21 and directed uninterrupted supply in schools across the country.Manoj Meena, deputy director of women empowerment, Kota, acknowledged that the supply chain was disrupted across the state for about a year. He said procurement is handled at the state level and local authorities have no role in purchasing the pads. Supplies have now resumed in phases, he said, with anganwadi centres being prioritised before distribution to govt schools.
