Schoolgirls made to strip for menstruation check

The police have registered a case against eight persons, including the principal and four teachers of a private school at Shahapur in Maharashtra’s Thane district, after girls studying in Classes 5 to 10 were made to strip to check if they were menstruating, officials said.

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The incident occurred at the RS Damani school in the town on Tuesday after bloodstains were found in its toilet, they said.

It sparked outrage among the parents of the girl students, who protested on the school premises on Wednesday and sought action against the management and teachers involved in the episode.

As per the complaint lodged by a parent of one of students, the girls studying in Classes between 5 and 10 were called to the convention hall of the school and shown the photos of blood stains in the toilet and floor by screening them through a projector, and asked if anybody from them was going through the menstrual cycle.

These girls were then divided into two groups. All those who said they were menstruating were asked to give their thumb impression to the teachers. But those girls who said they were not experiencing it were taken to the toilet one by one with a woman attendant checking their private parts, it said.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered against the school principal, four teachers, the attendant and two trustees, the police said.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Thane rural) Rahul Zalte said when the parents learnt about the girl students being subjected to this kind of a check, they gathered at the school and demanded action against the teachers involved.

“The situation turned tense for a while with the irate parents demanding action,” he said.