“We Aren’t Going To Party For 3 Days”: Twitter Thread Shows How Little Men Understand Periods, Menstrual Leave

The debate is turning hostile now!

Supreme Court of India is all set to hear the petition seeking compulsory paid menstrual leave for women across India on February 24. And just a few days ago, Spain approved menstrual leave for women across the country. This has sparked debates about paid menstrual leaves and how it would impact women, their lives, their careers as well as attitude of employers. Amid this debate, several men have been opposing period leaves even though they do not have uteruses or understand how women’s bodies and period pain works. And now, a Twitter user has called out men and their hostility towards women and menstrual leaves while highlighting how epically men fail to understand periods.

A journalist on Twitter, took a moment to call out men who have been opposing period leaves. Pointing out that men don’t understand that women won’t party during the 3 days of menstrual leave, the journalist stated that period leaves should be available for women if they need it. She went on to highlight how women’s bodies work differently and shared that some women need it, some don’t, some need it on the first day or their periods while others need it on their last day and so on.

months. Some come to work thinking they'll manage but need to go home when pain becomes unbearable. Some need the last day due to heavy bleeding. Some just need a few hours offline while painkiller starts to work. Periods are different for different people. If a business

— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) February 20, 2023

Speaking of employers, Rituparna Chatterjee said that if businesses are hostile towards women and eliminate them for wanting to rest when they’re in severe pain and are basically debilitated by menstrual cramps, then the government needs to take serious steps to protect women. She also pointed our that the number of hours one works do not determine the quality of work while adding that one also needs to understand how the paid menstrual leave will provide aid to women who do manual labour.

by how many hours a woman turns up, I think Covid lockdown established that. We are thinking of white collar jobs in this debate. Imagine the relief it will bring to women who do manual labour when it becomes legal to seek relief on bad period days. This whole debate has exposed

— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) February 20, 2023

Also Read: Explained: What Is The Menstrual Leave PIL In Supreme Court And The Menstruation Benefit Bill?

Hitting out at men, the Twitter user rightly said that the debate around menstrual leave has brought to light the fact that men know very little about periods and have no empathy for the women around them who suffer due to cramps. And she did so with a bang-on example of how bleeding is associated with being a loser. For the longest time, women have been told to hide their pain and continue working and taking care of their families, chores and other things with a brave face. Highlighting the same, the user called out the fact that this makes men think that the pain isn’t all that bad.

I think because women continue to work and function – take care of chores, family, paid work, caregiving – through debilitating periods, men look at them and think it must not be that bad.

— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) February 20, 2023

But this did not stop the journalist from stating that when a law is made, it is meant for the disenfranchised people who need to be uplifted but it also comes with the understanding that not all women need it but those who do will have access to it.

Lastly, the whole point being, it's not 'one size fits all'. When a policy/law is made it is made for the poorest and the most disenfranchised. And these provisions come with the understanding that not 100% of women will need it, but those who do, they will have it.

— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) February 20, 2023

Also Read: 7 Reasons Why Women NEED And Deserve Period Leaves

TBH, I’m someone who suffers from period cramps that cripple me to the point that my only option to get through the day is to be on painkillers as well as a sugar rush to keep me going. And despite the kind of debilitating periods that I have, doctors have always told me that it’s okay and it’s normal. Sadly, I’m not the only one. Most women struggle with menstrual cramps and are told that it’s normal to have cramps that take a toll on your daily life and that’s also why many of us have found ways to hide our pain and just get through our day at work but believe me when I say this – we do not want to work and no matter how much we want to give our 100%, we just cannot because the pain cripples us.

Surprisingly, the heated debate about menstrual leave has not only highlighted how ignorant men are but also the fact that they fail to empathise with women. Moreover, they’re unwilling to even take a step towards being feminist allies and understanding how period pain works. Even in 2023, when information is available to people at a click of a button, most of these people continue to be their ignorant selves while pointing out that period cramps aren’t important enough to provide women with the bare minimum i.e., time off from work to just rest while they bleed.

Spain Becomes First European Country To Pass Paid Menstrual Leave Law