At the core of this shift is the dismantling of the “biological tax” — the systemic penalty women pay for a natural process. In the case, the issue was the systemic exclusion of adolescent girls from the education system due to biological realities. As legal scholar Upendra Baxi observes, India’s legal and architectural standards have historically been designed around a “standard body” that does not menstruate, gestate, or lactate. While court-mandated infrastructure is the first step, the ultimate goal is the legislative “socialisation” of the biological tax. Yet, 78 years after Independence, the Supreme Court still finds it necessary to mandate the provision of spare innerwear and functional toilets.

Source: The Hindu March 13, 2026 08:53 UTC