There is a lot of debate happening around menstrual paid leaves in office workspaces. The discussion was raised during the Lok Sabha meeting on December 13, and the Women and Child Welfare Department minister Smriti Irani put forth her views on the same. In simple words, Smriti Irani dismissed seeing periods as an issue. She also stated that there are no provisions under discussion for making menstrual leaves mandatory. However, one of her statements on this discussion seems to have come from a very ignorant point of view.
Bhartiya Janata Party minister Smriti Irani put forth her views on menstrual paid leaves in her response to questions raised by Rashtriya Janata Dal member Manoj Kumar Jha on India’s menstrual hygiene policy. During her latest Lok Sabha speech, Smriti Irani strongly stated that menstrual hygiene is not a handicap but a natural occurrence that does not require any kind of paid leave policy. She also clarified that the government has no such proposals at hand for making menstrual leave handy. However, in her written and elaborated statement to the house, Smriti Irani acknowledged that a small proportion of women experience period issues like dysmenorrhea and other things that can be treated with medication.
Also Read: Men Don’t Understand Period Cramps But They Sure Have Opinions About Menstrual Leave. Tumko Pucha Kisi Ne?
Smriti Irani’s statement where she said period should not be treated as a handicap sounds a little tone-deaf and ignorant. Women go through severe medical conditions due to periods. Apart from that, during a normal menstruation cycle too, women go through so much of mood swings and painful cramps. This also makes women uncomfortable and concentrating on work becomes more difficult, so much so that during periods our productivity takes a hit too! We ask, why not paid menstrual leaves? Many countries like Spain, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan among others have legalised menstrual leaves. Well, in our country there is so much taboo and superstition around menstruation too, a provision for menstrual leaves will only help tackle such a regressive mindset in the country.