The Deputy Chief Minister of Odisha, Pravati Parida, on Thursday, August 15, declared that state government and private sector workers would receive paid menstruation leave for one day. However, the leave will be optional.
After attending an Independence Day programme in Cuttack, Parida, who is also in charge of the women and child development department, made the announcement.
As per the announcement, either on the first or second day of their menstrual cycle, female employees are eligible to take a leave of absence. “It will be optional,” Pravati Parida said.
Notedly, at the United Nations Civil Society Conference 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, an Odia girl had raised her voice to request paid leave during periods. The issue of paid leave for women during menstruation was brought to the notice of all the attendees at the international conference by Odisha activist Ranjita Priyadarshini. She argued that physical discomfort associated with menstruation is a cause of suffering for women worldwide.
The only Indian states that have menstruation leave rules in place at the moment are Kerala and Bihar. In 1992, Bihar implemented a program that granted women with two days of paid leave per month for periods while Kerala expanded maternity leave for female students above the age of eighteen, to up to sixty days, and menstruation leave to all female students in universities and other institutions in 2023.
Menstrual leave policies have also been implemented by a few private Indian companies such as Zomato, which has been providing 10 days of paid period leave a year since 2020.
(with inputs from PTI)