Indian School Principal, Staff Arrested After Girls Allegedly Stripped for Menstruation Check

Periods have long been a taboo in India where menstruating girls and women are considered impure

A school principal and an attendant in Maharashtra, India, have been arrested following allegations that a group of female students was forcibly stripped to check if they were menstruating. The incident reportedly took place at an all-girls school in Thane, near Mumbai, after blood stains were discovered on a toilet wall.

According to local police, the arrests came after a parent lodged a formal complaint, alleging that between 10 to 15 girls were subjected to the humiliating act on Tuesday. Parents staged a protest at the school the following day, demanding strict legal action against the accused staff.

In a widely circulated video, the school principal is seen denying the allegations while arguing with outraged parents. She claimed no strip search was ordered or carried out. However, senior police officer Milind Shinde confirmed an investigation is underway, and that the two arrested women will be presented in court.

The police complaint also names four additional teachers and two school trustees as being involved. Charges include assault, outraging the modesty of a woman, and violations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a stringent law designed to safeguard minors.

Parents allege that all girls from classes 5 through 10 — typically aged 10 to 16 — were called into a school hall by the principal. There, students were shown projected images of blood stains, including a handprint from the toilet wall, and those menstruating were asked to raise their hands. A teacher reportedly took handprints from those who identified as being on their period.

The complaint further states that several girls who denied menstruating were taken to the toilet, ordered to strip, and subjected to an invasive inspection. One parent said her daughter, who was not menstruating, was scolded and asked why she wasn’t wearing a sanitary pad, and her handprint was still taken.

“She felt very ashamed,” the mother said. “Our daughters are now traumatized. This incident raises serious concerns about their safety.”

Another parent said when confronted, school authorities failed to explain how all the girls could be lying. “They had no answer when we asked that question,” she said.

India continues to struggle with entrenched taboos around menstruation. In many areas, menstruating women are still considered impure, often barred from kitchens, temples, and other social spaces. These stigmas extend into schools, where female students often face period-related shaming.

This is not the first time such incidents have occurred. In 2017, 70 girls at a residential school in Uttar Pradesh were stripped by a warden after blood was found on a bathroom door. In 2020, 68 students at a college hostel in Gujarat were strip-searched after failing to report their periods, which exempted them from discriminatory restrictions such as sitting separately during meals and being barred from religious spaces.

While urban, educated women are pushing back against these regressive norms, discriminatory practices surrounding menstruation remain widespread in many parts of India.