When a girl student in Bihar asked Harjot Kaur Bamrah–a senior female Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer –if the government could provide affordable menstrual solutions like sanitary pads, she was reprimanded harshly by the latter. Bamrah taunted her and said, “Tomorrow, you attain the age of family planning and you would expect the government to provide Nirodh (condom) too.” The video from the Sashakt Beti, Samridh Bihar event has now gone viral on social media where Bamrah is seen telling students they need to change the way they think. “Why [should] the government provide you everything free? Tomorrow you’ll say the government can provide jeans and why not some beautiful shoes thereafter? And eventually, at the time of family planning, you will expect the government to provide Nirodh [brand of condom] too,” she replies when asked why the government couldn’t provide Whisper sanitary pads that cost about ₹20-30.
When another student tells her that her school has a broken toilet door where boys can easily enter, Bamrah coldly replied saying, “Tell me, do you have separate toilets at your home for males and females? If you keep asking for a lot of things at different places, how will it work?”
Bamrah is a 1992 batch IAS officer who is also the principal secretary of the Women and Child Welfare Development and also heads the Bihar Women and Child Development Corporation.
When she was asked about the video that is doing the rounds on social media, Bamrah reportedly said that it is ‘all false, malicious and wrong reporting of an event’ and that she is one of the most ‘vociferous champions of women’s rights and empowerment.