No proposal by govenment for paid menstrual leave: Smriti

Menstruation cycle is not a handicap: Smriti Irani

Small proportion of women/ girls suffer from severe dysmenorrhea: Smriti Irani

The issue of paid leaves for women for menstruation has been gaining traction for a while across the country. Union women and child development (WCD) minister Smriti Irani has however closed the door for the implementation of the same through government policies. Responding to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in the Lok Sabha, she had earlier said that there are “no proposals under the consideration of the government to make provision for paid menstrual leave mandatory for all workplaces.” 

Although acknowledging the severity of the health problem she refused to let it dictate terms of employment. “As a menstruating woman, menstruation and the menstruation cycle is not a handicap, it’s a natural part of women’s life journey. We should not propose issues where women are denied equal opportunities just because somebody who does not menstruate has a particular viewpoint towards menstruation. A small proportion of women/ girls suffer from severe dysmenorrhea or similar complaints; and most of these cases are manageable by medication. However, the issue of menstruation and its associated activities are surrounded by silence, often treated with shame and associated with social taboos that restrict mobility, freedom and access to normal activities for menstruating persons, and many a times leads to their harassment and social exclusion. It becomes even more sensitive, when a girl/ menstruating person is unaware of the changes that she undergoes emotionally and physically, while facing her menstrual cycle for the first time,” her elaborate statement mentioned.