A recent debate on paid menstrual leave in India had me thinking — why is it that our movements and protests are so short-sighted?
The conversation stemmed from a clip of MP Smriti Irani voicing her stance against paid menstrual leave in the Lower house of the Parliament, saying people who don’t menstruate should not speak for those who do and try to legislate for them in what would be a move against women’s equality.
For once, I actually agree with her (fwiw).
I am going to call this out first — many women suffer from immense pain and other side effects when they’re on their period. We absolutely need to create the space for them to recover and heal, that is an obligation every society and community needs to fulfill in exchange for women continuing to deliver the social good that is children.
However, paid menstrual leave is not the way to go. Let me start with why I think paid menstrual leave is problematic in an overtly patriarchal society. Then I’ll propose other ways of equalizing the workplace for women (and men), so we can actually solve the problem without creating unequal conditions.
Why paid period leave is problematic
In a society where women are perennially discriminated against, paid period leave provides employers with yet another reason to discriminate against women.
The law being debated did not come with anti-discriminatory provisions or how these regulations will be imposed on private parties. That is massively problematic. How would a woman take an employer to court if there was discrimination? What enforcement mechanisms are private parties required to implement in conjunction with paid period leave?
- India’s equivalent of HIPAA (DISHA) only protects digital information. It does not prohibit employers from using private health data against its employees. In a country where women are denied raises because they aren’t the primary bread earner in the family, where managers say it’s better to give the raise to a man who is the sole bread earner for his family instead, do we really think women won’t get passed over for being on leave 2-3 days a month? Women get passed over for promotions just because they’ve gotten married and “will soon take maternity leave anyway”.
- Women will need to disclose private health data (when they are on their period) to their employers. I am not sure any of us wants to disclose our period and our ovulation cycles to our co-workers. How are women logging the leave? Even if it’s not explicitly period leave, is it really hard for an employer (be it man or woman) to decipher a woman’s ovulation schedule from the leave schedule?
- What provisions do we have for work place bullying or harassment from peers who will now be able to track a woman’s period?
What we should ask for instead?
Let’s ask for equitable workplaces for men and women.
- Ample sick leaves: Provide every employee with an adequate number of sick leaves in addition to paid time off. That way, women can use them if they need to while on their period.
- Remote work: Make Work from home normal. Not all of us need to take the day off because we have period cramps or headaches. Sometimes it’s enough to stay home with a hot water bag and a tylenol and deal with what is a very normal part of our lives. It also allows men to do the same when they’re having days where they don’t feel too well.
- Flex work: Can we normalize the fact that we all have lives? Men and women need to take time off for doctor’s appointments, for picking up their kids from daycare, for elderly care, errands, so much. Do we really care how many hours we are at the desk? Does it not matter more that you get the job done? And if it does, why do we care when the job gets done?
Anwesha Bhattacharjee 