Menstrual Product Provision in Czech Schools: Explaining the Process Behind the Adoption of the Decree Amendment

Abstract

This thesis investigates the strategic mechanisms that led to the successful adoption of Vyhláška 308/2025 Sb., a Czech ministerial decree amendment mandating free provision of menstrual products in schools, the first national-level policy connected to the stigmatized topic of menstruation in the Central and Eastern Europe. The rationale behind the research lies in the passing of the policy despite Czechia consistently ranking near the bottom of the European Union in the Gender Equality Index and the society having an academically documented complicated relationship with feminist terminology. This thesis therefore examines the strategies used in order to bypass the institutional barriers. Using a combination of qualitative methods of process tracing, key informant interviews, and qualitative document analysis, the research reveals that strategic framing, depoliticization techniques and existence of local data from pilot projects were substantial for the success of the negotiations. The main actors intentionally shifted the polarizing narrative of "menstrual poverty alleviation" to the values of "child wellbeing, class attendance, and hygienic standards." This linguistic shift allowed a centre-right government to adopt a progressive social policy. Furthermore, the thesis finds that the main actors used...