As women favour period leave, many call for looking beyond policy Premium

As a discussion is under way in Karnataka about the menstrual leave policy and legislation to implement it, different classes of women working in various sectors look at the issue through different lenses. But most of them agree that this taboo subject needs wider discussion and acceptance.

Sharanya Rao (name changed) is a 27-year-old lecturer in a private college in Bengaluru. She spends most of her days on her feet. “I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and hence, I have heavy bleeding during my periods. It is hard to go about my day as usual when I have my period. With such jobs, people should stop shaming women for wanting to sit down and or slow down because period fatigue is real,” she says, on the much-debated issue of menstrual leave.

The world of Prabha (name changed), who is in her late thirties and works as domestic help in at least three houses in North Bengaluru, is very different. “If I ask for leave every month because I am on my period, then I simply miss out on that day’s pay. I am not even comfortable telling my employers that I have my period, let alone ask for leave for it. Unless I have very bad cramps, I go about my work,” she says.

As a discussion is under way in Karnataka about the menstrual leave policy and legislation to implement it, different classes of women working in various sectors look at the issue through different lenses. But most agree that this taboo subject needs wider discussion and acceptance.

The Karnataka government has set up an 18-member committee,headed by Sapna Mohan, Associate Dean at the School of Law at Christ University, to study and recommend the feasibility of implementing a menstrual leave policy in the State, including the private sector, garments industry, and IT sector. The committee in its preliminary report has recommended one-day menstrual leave a month and the passing of The Right of Women to Menstrual Leave and Free Access to Menstrual Health Products Bill by the State legislature.

“There were a lot of deliberations in the committee about the terminology for this leave and if it should be called ‘menstrual leave’. But this is something that biologically happens to women and it should be called menstrual leave. Most members of the committee are of the opinion that this should not just be called sick leave and should be exclusive to women,” says Sapna Mohan. 

However, a few committee members expressed their disapproval of the policy. They argued that this policy could lead to further discrimination against women employees at workplaces. “While we welcome the government’s thinking in the direction of a menstrual leave policy, we want to take a balanced approach to this so that it does not become counterproductive for women. We are working out these modalities and a final report will be submitted to the government soon,” clarifies Sapna Mohan.

Karnataka is not the first State to mull over this policy. Bihar has been providing two-day menstrual leave since 1992 to government employees, including contract workers,while Maharashtra is also considering implementing it. According to sources in the Labour Department, menstrual leave might soon become a reality in Karnataka.