Menstrual Stigma and Gender Inequality: A Socio-Legal Analysis of Structural Discrimination in India
The present research examines menstrual stigma as a systematic mechanism of gender-based discrimination that violates constitutional principles of equality and dignity in India. Through comprehensive legal analysis, this study demonstrates how menstrual-related exclusions constitute violations of fundamental rights while revealing gaps in legal frameworks that fail to address embodied forms of gender inequality. The analysis synthesizes constitutional law, human rights jurisprudence, and feminist legal theory to establish that menstrual stigma represents actionable discrimination requiring comprehensive legal intervention. The study contributes to constitutional scholarship by demonstrating how biological processes become sites of legal exclusion that undermine women's citizenship rights, necessitating doctrinal evolution to address embodied inequalities.
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