Last week Spain become the first western country to offering menstrual leave for womens.

In India, Bihar had it from 1992. A girls school in Kerala had granted its students menstrual leave since 1912.  Now this is the right time to give assent to the Bill which was introduced in 2018 in parliament. 

Also this it should be extended to female students of Class VIII and above in government recognised schools.

In the recent past, some private companies in India have started offering menstrual leave.

Several countries such as Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, etc also have menstrual leave provisions.

Nearly 20% of women suffer from uncomfortable symptoms.

These may include cramps, nausea, fever and weakness during their periods.

A section of people in India is against this bill because of they believe that such a law would further the bias against them at workplace and they would need to deal with unfair treatments in the form of  hiring bias, lesser pays, slower promotions. Reservation for womens in private sector is need of the hour.

A company that values the needs of its employees produces satisfied employees thereby increasing the efficiency of the company as a whole. Hence, a Menstrual benefit bill will also benefit the employer in the long term. The government needs to build a system of gender equity in the country and this bill is a stepping stone towards it. This will enable inclusivity and growth.