‘Menstruation’ also termed as ‘Periods’ are monthly vaginal bleeding that occurs to women for 2-7 days after every 23-35 days. During this menstruation period women are entitled to experience pain in their lower abdomen, known as ‘menstruation cramps’ due to the contraction and relaxation of uterus. The intensity of menstruation cramps varies from women to women, while some women experience a low intensity to no cramps, some women experience extremely painful cramps that affects their body negatively and make them weak. Therefore, day off from work on those days are of very much importance for womens, to not suppress their pain and force themselves to work and let their body rest. Paid Period Leave is no alien concept, many countries have already adopted the policy to support women in their country. In India, paid period leave is a topic of debate for long, many companies have adopted this policy to empower and encourage their women employees, but no policy or support has come from the central level. It is high time; we force women to work in pain and introduce policies that let them rest on days they have cramps and make the work environment friendly for them.
THE NEED OF PAID PERIOD LEAVE IN INDIA
Period Cramps differ from women to women. Some women have moderate pain which is normal while on the other hand some women experience extremely painful period cramps, wherein focusing at work is impossible. In cases of Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, Fibroids (benign tumor) and Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases (PID), women experience severe period pain in the pelvis. Endometriosis has significant social, public and economic implications. It can decrease quality of life due to severe pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety and infertility.[1] Unfortunately, many endometriosis sufferers also have difficulty getting adequate rest due to the pain and fatigue associated with the condition. When not getting enough sleep, human bodies can’t properly repair themselves, making it more prone to illness and injury. Lack of rest can also contribute to higher levels of stress and anxiety, which can worsen the symptoms of endometriosis.[2] Menstrual pain was reported by 84.1% of women, with 43.1% reporting that pain occurred during every period, and 41% reporting that pain occurred during some periods.[3] Women needs to rest in such conditions, and therefore, there’s a need of paid period leave to support the women of our country who endure such drastic level of pain yet never complain. As per research conducted by Professor John Guillebaud (UCL Institute for Women’s Health), University College London, it was unveiled that period pain can be compared to the pain one experiences during a heart attack.
Several countries such as Zambia, Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines, Spain, have acknowledged the pain of women of their country and introduced paid period leaves in their policy to strengthen and empower women in their country. It’s high time now, India should also realise the importance of rests during menstruation cramps and borrow idea of paid period leaves from those countries, so women in India, feel supported and connected.
THE HIGHLY ASKED QUESTION: WHY NOW?
A common question that is asked by the people against the idea is, Women have been working since quite a long time now, but such issue never arose, so why now? Women who worked in the past didn’t went through such pain?
The simple answer to this is, women have faced a lot of discrimination in the past, and after a lot of struggle and fights, they managed to create a spot for them in the working world, and after all the endeavour they went through, if they would’ve demanded paid period leave, there were chances of them losing their jobs. So, they had no option but to go through all the pain and do all the work without anything to say. Menstruation wasn’t talked aloud in the past.
The menstruation period is marked by pain and discomfort of varying scales commonly due to uterine contractions. Medically termed dysmenorrhea, its prevalence varies between 16% to 91% in studies across the world.[4] with India centric studies placing the numbers between 50% to 87.2%.[5]
Another reason is, at that time when women were not treated equally, being vocal about period leave might harm their jobs and might generate the idea of opting for male employees instead of female in the heads of employer to prevent leaves of employees every month and ensure effective and efficient workforce. It turns out that taking the pill continually doesn’t completely stop periods, or the accompanying pain.[6]
But it is 2024, we talk about menstruation now. It is not considered a taboo now; therefore, it is essential to throw light on the importance of paid period leave and implement such policy. Women in the recent few years have shown with their success, if given equal opportunity can lead the world, and break the world-famous taboo, that placed men above women. Women lead successful companies now, they are successful entrepreneurs now, so it’s important we amend our policies and include leaves during menstruation to support them, when they are supporting our economy. Changes and amendments are need of the society, without it, we cannot flourish.
WILL PAID PERIOD LEAVES AFFECT THE ECONOMY?
The concept of Menstrual Leave has been in existence from the time of World War II and it has also already been implemented in countries like Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan due to their far sightedness. A bill has also been proposed by Italy regarding paid menstrual leave.[7] There hasn’t been any fall in their economy reported due to paid menstrual leave. Today, work can be done from any part of the world. The COVID-19 pandemic we suffered, introduced the idea of work from home to public at large. Since then, many companies have introduced work from home options to their employees. This idea could be used, for menstrual leaves as well. Women don’t have to come to offices, but they can work from home, if there’s some urgent work.
The concept of Menstrual Leave has been in existence from the time of World War II and it has also already been implemented in countries like Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan due to their far sightedness. A bill has also been proposed by Italy regarding paid menstrual leave.
Paid Period Leave doesn’t mean compulsory leaves for women when they are menstruating, rather it is leaves to help them stay home and rest on days they can’t function due to menstrual cramps. With today’s advanced technology, they can stay home and work from there as per there capacity, this way they can rest their bodies and carry out with their projects at the same time. It will improve menstrual health and make the workplace safe and fit for menstruating women.
In Japan menstrual leaves are legal since 1947, and a report says not many women take advantage of the law, however. The survey of around 6,000 companies found that just 0.9 percent of eligible workers had taken menstrual leave.[8]
Menstrual leaves won’t affect the economy. On the other hand, it will strengthen the womens of our community and motivate them to work hard and give their best in advancing their companies and adding to the growth of our country. They will feel supported and empowered and this sense of belongingness will only lead them use the leave fairly and only when needed.
INDIAN COMPANIES THAT HAVE INTRODUCED PERIOD LEAVE POLICY IN THEIR FRAMEWORK
As for India, many big private companies have adopted a similar policy since 2017, including the food delivery services Zomato and Swiggy and the education technology company Byju’s.[9] Other companies like Culture Machine, Industry Arc, Fly My Biz have also taken positive step and introduced period leaves for women employees.
Menstrual leave policies differ among countries and companies. For example, some policies offer workplace flexibility during menstruation, while others offer days off. If a policy provides the latter, individuals can take time to recover while reserving their medical leave for non-menstrual health conditions.[10] 20 percent of women have symptoms like cramping, nausea, etc., that are serious enough to interfere with daily activities, according to the Clinical Evidence Handbook.[11]
A few Indian states too implemented such policies. Bihar’s government began providing two days of menstrual leave per month for women in the workforce as far back as 1992. Kerala took a step on January 19, 2023, by issuing an order for menstrual leave in all state-run higher education institutions. [12]
Indian Legislation should take into consideration the steps taken by these companies and come up with framework that implies on every company or organisation and guarantee women paid period leave.
DOES PERIOD LEAVE FOR WOMEN BREAKS GENDER EQUALITY BRIDGE?
Providing period leave to women would not amount to discrimination. Menstruation and Reproduction is a natural phenomenon that occurs to only female gender in the society and during this course of menstruation women experience extreme pain in their pelvis and lower abdomen area. So, providing them comfort during pain is not discriminating women from men. If men would have experienced the same natural process, the rules and regulations would have been the same for them. But, since this process is only occurred in female bodies and not the male body, this assistance should be provided to women. When menstruation and its effects are only limited to female bodies, it’s healthcare benefits should also be available and limited to the female body.
The idea of not introducing legislation for period leaves, is supporting the principle of Utilitarianism by Jeremy Bentham, that focused on maximum gain to maximum people, minimum pain to minimum people. Women who suffer extreme period pain are the minimum people here, not supporting their menstrual health is violating their Art 21. ‘Right to health’ has been interpreted under Article 21, by the Apex Court in many cases, and having no provisions for women’s menstrual health is violation of their right to health under art 21.
Smriti Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development, gave her personal opinion about paid period leave in parliament. The statement does not represent voice of the women in our country. Asking for leave when in pain is not wrong. Promotion of the idea of working in pain, also promotes the idea of period pain being manageable and forcing women to supress the pain they are going through and work through the uneasiness.
THE MENSTRUAL BENEFIT BILL 2017
The Menstruation Benefit Bill is a progressive step towards a gender sensitive labour policy.[13] It seeks to provide working women two days of paid menstrual leave every month, and it applies to women working in both public and private sectors; The Bill also seeks to provide better facilities for rest at the workplace during menstruation.[14] Recently, another proposed bill the “Right of Women to Menstrual Leave and Free Access to Menstrual Health Products Bill, 2022,” seeking to provide three days of paid leave for women and transwomen during their periods, extending the benefit to students, was also introduced, however, the same failed to see the light of the day.[15]
Paid Period Leave will only enhance the condition of women in our country. Some of the states such as Bihar and Kerala and private companies are implementing period leaves for female employees is a commendable initiative, the central government should also consider the initiatives of these companies and states and other countries such as Spain, and prioritize healthcare at national level and introduce legislation that allow women to take leaves during their menstruation.
CONCLUSION
Paid Period Leave is essential for promoting and safeguarding menstrual and reproductive health of women. Several Indian companies and states have already taken initiative and support period leaves for females in their organization or state. The Centre should also introduce laws that support this cause, and empower women in our country. Indian Legislation should take inspiration from Spain, South Korea, Japan, and take their step forward in supporting women’s health and motivating other countries to adopt the same.
[1] Endometriosis, World Health Organisation, 24 Mar 2023.
[2] Why self-care needs to be a top priority while living with endometriosis, Elanza Wellness, 23 Jan 2023.
[3] Giovanni Grandi, Serena Ferrari, Anjeza Xholli, Marianna Cannoletta, Federica Palma, Cecilia Romani, Annibale Volpe, and Angelo Cagnacci, Prevalence of menstrual pain in young women: what is dysmenorrhea?, National Library of Medicine, 20 June 2012.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3392715
[4] Belliappa, Jyothsna Latha. Menstrual Leave Debate: Opportunity to Address Inclusivity in Indian Organizations. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. 53, No. 4 (April 2018), pp. 604-617
[5] Hong Ju, Mark Jones & Gita Mishra. The prevalence and risk factors of dysmenorrhea. Epidemiol Rev. 2014; 36:104-13. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxt009. 2013 Nov 26. PMID: 24284871.
[6] Olivia Goldhill, Period pain can be “almost as bad as a heart attack.” Why aren’t we researching how to treat it? Quartz, 15 Feb 2015.
[7] Sanchita Arora, Menstrual Leave: An Overview of The Menstrual Benefit Bill, 2017, Khurana & Khurana, 23 June,2022.
[8] The Global Push For Paid Menstrual Leave As Spain Brings In Law, NDTV World, 16 Feb 2023.
[9] Raksha Kumar, Whatever happened to the ‘period day off’ policy? NPR, 3 Sep 2023.
[10] What to know about menstrual leave, Medical News Today, 30 Mar 2023.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/menstrual-leave
[11] Waqar Azmi, Menstrual Leave in India: These 9 Companies Offer Period Leave, Startup hr toolkit14 Mar.
[12] Samriddhi Srivastava, While Smriti Irani opposes paid menstrual leave, these firms have always been in favour, People Matters.
[13] Badapbiang T. Dkhar, Menstrual leave and the right to live with dignity: why was the Menstruation Benefit Bill, 2017 withdrawn from the Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly’s 2022 Budget session? The Leaflet, 15 Mar 2022.
[14] Menstruation Benefits Bill, IAS Parliament, 9 June 2018.
https://www.iasparliament.com/current-affairs/menstruation-benefits-bill
[15] Devaiah KG, Menstrual Leave In India – Latest Trends & Perspectives, BCP Associates LLP, 15 Dec 2023.
Author: Arya Pandey
Juris Centre 