Odisha government announces period leave for women

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has become the third state in the country to announce menstrual leave for working women in both public and private sectors.

During Independence Day celebrations at Cuttack on Thursday, deputy chief minister Pravati Parida announced that a one-day menstrual leave will be granted to women employees which they can avail either on the first or the second day of the menstrual cycle. “Women employees were earlier not allowed menstrual leave. Now, they can avail it as an optional leave on the first or second day of the menstrual cycle. It will be applicable for both the government and private sector employees,” Parida said. She added that it is an important step towards addressing and acknowledging the discomfort that working women have to face during their menstrual cycle.

In its election manifesto for Odisha, the BJP had promised to initiate a ‘Menstrual Health Policy’ in all government offices, including granting one-day menstrual leave for women government employees. This also finds mention in its 100-day action plan.

Till now, Bihar and Kerala were the only two states that provide menstrual leave. While Bihar has a two-day leave policy for women employees, Kerala has a provision for a three-day period leave for women students. In Bihar, women government employees were granted two days period leave per month, up to the age of 45, while Kerala government has fixed the attendance limit for female students at 73 per cent including menstrual leave.

Although the move is being hailed by labour union leaders and women’s rights activists as ‘progressive’, they said the government should soon come out with the guidelines or an SOP to bring more clarity into how it will be implemented, particularly in the private sector. Although the menstrual leave needs to be integrated into labour laws, there have been no consultation on it with the Labour department or stakeholders in the private sector yet.