A female civil servant’s response to a schoolgirl’s request for free sanitary pads has sparked backlash in India.
The teenager made the request at a workshop organised with Unicef in the eastern state of Bihar.
The official responded by saying the girl would soon expect the government to provide free clothes, shoes and even condoms.
Periods are a taboo topic in India, with menstruating women often forced to live under severe restrictions.
Nearly 23 million girls drop out of school annually after they start their periods due to a lack of access to menstrual hygiene facilities.
In Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, only 59% of women use a hygienic method of menstrual protection, according to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the most comprehensive household survey of health and social indicators by the government.
