May 30, 2025
THIMPHU – All schools and nunneries across the country will have sanitary pad disposal bins, bringing the government closer to its commitment to making all schools and nunneries period-friendly by 2029.
Observing Menstrual Hygiene Day in Gelephu yesterday, Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Eeuphelma Choden Wangchuck, Royal Patron of Red Dot Bhutan, launched a nationwide sanitary pad bin initiative for all 562 schools and 32 nunneries in the country.
HRH also issued a directive to all dzongkhags and thromdes to ensure that all public toilets are equipped with sanitary pad disposal bins.
“The presence of pad bins empowers adolescent girls and women by providing a safe and respectful way to manage menstruation, reducing the stress of finding a discreet place to dispose sanitary products. It also contributes to cleaner public spaces and supports proper solid waste management, aligning with our national goals for environment,” states the directive.
Sanitary pad bins in schools and nunneries will help make Bhutan period-friendly, with the government aiming for 100 percent period-friendly institutions by the end of the 13th Plan.
Minister for Education and Skills Development Yeezang De Thapa emphasised the importance of making any development process inclusive and period-friendly. “By incorporating menstrual health education into school curricula, we must ensure our children and young people are literate in menstrual hygiene,” Lyonpo said.
The record with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) revealed that 63 percent of schools had disposal mechanisms, 41 percent had covered bins, and 46 percent had changing rooms for menstrual hygiene management in 2023.
Lyonpo said period-friendly toilet facilities provide regular water, proper disposal bins, privacy, and menstrual products to ensure safety and dignity. “Considering the basic menstrual management needs of girls and women is catalytical towards making our homes, schools, communities and societies period-friendly,” she added.
The National Standards for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) for schools and monastic institutions require period-friendly toilets to be private and safe spaces with access to running water and covered disposal bins.
The MoESD, with UNICEF’s support, is constructing water supply schemes in 15 schools across 11 dzongkhags to ensure access to running water. These schemes are expected to benefit 8,758 students, including 4,480 girls, in meeting their sanitation and menstrual hygiene needs.
Reiterating UNICEF’s continued support, UNICEF Bhutan Deputy Representative Fawzia Hoodbhoy commended the Royal Government’s commitment to making Bhutan an inclusive and period-friendly society.
“Along with improving access to menstrual health and hygiene services for our girls and women, we must continue to work towards addressing the social norms and myths around menstruation to become a period-friendly society,” she said.
GMC Governor Dasho Dr Lotay Tshering stressed the importance of hygiene management. “There is no reason to shame menstruation; it is the same as any other blood from the body,” he said.
HRH Princess Eeuphelma Choden Wangchuck joined over 600 students and guests for a “Walk for a Period-Friendly Bhutan” in Gelephu to observe the day.
Red Dot Bhutan, the national platform for menstrual hygiene management, chose Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) as a hub to advocate for the inclusion of menstrual hygiene in development plans and policies.
“I am confident that the GMC will be exemplary of a period-friendly society, one that sets the highest standards of menstrual hygiene management that the rest of the country looks up to,” Lyonpo Yeezang De Thapa said.
The Gelephu business community contributed 150 pad bins, while the Bank of Bhutan, Bhutan National Bank, Bhutan Heli, Lhaki Steels and Rolling, Phuensum Builders, Perfect Enterprise, Samtse Ferro Pvt Ltd, Rigsar Construction, and Kuenphen Medical donated pad bins valued at over Nu 200,000 to Red Dot Bhutan.v