Smriti Irani goes against menstrual leave : Should menstruating women be allowed to take time off work? Smriti Irani, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, expressed opposition to a paid menstrual leave policy in the Parliament, stating that it might result in discrimination against women who work.
As a woman who experiences menstruation, she stated that the cycle and menstruation are not a disability but rather a normal aspect of a woman’s life and that the government is not currently taking any action to force employers to offer menstrual leave. So should menstrual leaves be considered a catch-all term, given that some women experience physically debilitating pain as a result of endometriosis or dysmenorrhea?
DO WOMEN REQUIRE PERIODIC LEAVES?
“Every woman experiences menstruation differently,” states Dr. Surbhi Singh, a gynaecologist and president of Sacchi Saheli, an organization that raises awareness of menstruation. While some people may be able to continue working after taking some time off or medication, others may experience severe symptoms that occasionally even necessitate hospitalization. This is the reason it might be challenging to create a unified policy on it. But a woman should be able to take a leave of absence without facing discrimination or losing her income.
She continued by saying that employers needed to provide women with reasonable accommodations. Giving birth is a natural process as well, but post-partum hemorrhage is a major cause of death for many women. Thus, hospital-based delivery is now being encouraged by the government. Menstruation also requires some sort of accommodation. Indeed, some people may abuse these leaves, but the foundation of all laws and regulations in our nation is the idea that the majority of people gain from them.
WHICH MENSTRUATIONAL SYMPTOMS ARE THE SEVEREST?
Menstrual pain, heavy bleeding, hormonally-induced lack of focus, bloating that can interfere with work, difficulty sleeping, vomiting, and fever are the most common complaints.
Some women can have excruciating pain and fainting episodes, especially if they have illnesses like endometriosis. A condition known as endometriosis causes uterine lining tissues to appear and bleed in other parts of the abdomen. Some suffer from the crippling premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), a more severe form of PMS that can lead to drastically altered moods.
Head of the gynecology department at Amrita Hospital in Faridabad, Dr. Pratima Mittal, stated that she did not think women should be able to take specific menstrual leaves, but she did think that women with illnesses like endometriosis should be able to take menstrual leave leave.
WHAT IS SATED IN THE GOVERNMENT POLICY?
On the other hand, a newly released draft menstrual(menstrual leave) policy by the government is quite progressive, saying that women should be able to work from home or take support leaves in order to ensure that they are not subjected to discrimination. According to the policy, it’s critical to emphasize that these arrangements should be accessible to everyone in order to avoid spreading stigmas or presumptions about productivity based on menstrual cycles. Additionally, the policy is now more inclusive, recognizing that “trans and the non-binary population” experience menstruation. The government has also been developing programs like Jan Aushadhi, which sells extremely cheap Rs 1 pads.
Irani clarified, of course, that her statement represented her personal opinion. Since I’m not the officiating ministry, I’ll just offer my personal opinion on the matter, given that women are choosing to pursue an increasing number of economic opportunities today. Irani responded to a question from Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha by saying, “We shouldn’t propose issues where ladies are here and there denied an equivalent open door since someone who doesn’t bleed has a specific perspective towards feminine cycle.”
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