Tejas V Srinivasan
04th November 2020
India- In August, Zomato finally decided to give ten days of paid leave a year for menstrual pain, which has been considered a long due progressive move. In a country where the talk of menstruation is still taboo, big companies such as Zomato, Mathrubhumi, and Netflix have started giving menstrual leave.
A Survey taken by Youth kiawaaz shows that nearly 66.3 per cent of the participants suffered from menstrual pain, and the pain cannot be quantified. Even though almost 24.8 per cent of women actively work, not enough is spoken about workplace differences and how menstrual pain is not controllable.
The Menstrual Benefits Bill seeks to provide women in private and public sectors two days off every month for menstrual pain and better facilities at workspaces to rest during menstruation. The bill also extends to students above the 8th grade. If workplaces start implementing this soon enough irrespective of a bill coming or not, then there is a good chance that more progressive changes will be seen in the future. Moreover, the discussing stigmas surrounding taboo topics will allow for more positive trends in workplaces. It can be considered a step ahead to realizing that differences in workplaces can be expected.
While Zomato and other significant companies have given menstrual leave, it's also equally important for companies to have good resting facilities at their office in the case of extreme pain and fatigue. This will create a healthy workplace for women as they can have a safe space to rest in the case of severe pain.
Paid Period Leaves will create a safer workplace for future generations to come. Hopefully it can induce talks about other stigmas that needs to be overcome as a generation and destigmatize issues that couldn’t be destigmatized earlier.
Edited by- Sravanthi Neralla