As woman, I know that many women go through a painful experience during their periods. The worst is on the first two days of the period. The fatigue, tiredness, uneasiness and pain a woman faces during periods often hampers their productivity at work. In 2017, when an organisation initiated First Day for period leaves, it was applauded as well as frowned upon by a few sections of society. Some people believe that it would further the gap between males and females at workplace, and can put women at a disadvantage as it can let employers and organisations be apprehensive of hiring a woman.
In 2017, the Menstrual Benefit Bill was introduced by Lok Sabha MP Ninong Ering as a private members’ Bill. The Bill sought to provide two days of paid menstrual leave to working women every month. Ering also challenged the Ministry of Women and Child Development for introducing menstrual leaves. In response, the Ministry declined the Bill and mentioned that they had no such plans of giving our menstrual leaves to women. However, the Bill did manage to create an uproar and initiated a lot of discussion.
Menstrual Leaves For Urban And Rural Women
The First Day period leave is a luxury that only few women from urban areas have been able to afford and enjoy so far. The space to discuss topics such as menstruation has only been found in urban areas. Even the Bills, Acts and debates around menstrual benefits at workplace often end up considering women who are either private or public sector employees. In other words, only salaried women are considered for a menstrual leave on the first day of periods.
The problem lies when these benefits do not reach women who are informal labourers or daily wage earners. These women, who solely depend on daily wages, often miss out on work during menstrual days. They do not have the luxury of taking a day off from work. The pain, lack of concentration, nausea and fatigue a woman faces during menstruation is a reality. In addition, it is noted that the productivity of women during these two days is often low.
Yet, women who work at the MGNREGA worksite are at disadvantage as the payment of wage depends on the number of days worked and the amount of work completed. Currently, one day’s work can help them get a maximum of Rs 190-200 and a minimum of Rs 50. The wage rate also depends on whether the “task” was completed within nine hours, failure of which can lead to deduction in wage. Low productivity during periods is a hindrance as the work solely depends on physical labour.
In my experience of working with women at a MGNREGA worksite in Shahdol, MP, I noticed the lack of a conducive environment for menstruating women at the worksite. The site lacks proper space for resting and does not have facilities and amenities to be able to work during menstruation. In rural areas, the taboo, stigma, discrimination and secrecy around menstruation is much greater than in urban space. Missing out on work leads to a lack of payment and non-completion of the task amounts to less payment. A menstruating woman is at a disadvantage in both the scenarios.
Further, the unorganised sector is only growing day-by-day, while the organised sector is shrinking. In the unorganised sector, labour laws are openly flouted, therefore putting women at greater risk and disadvantage. The Factories Act, 1948, has put a limit on the load that women labourers can lift, and prohibits their night shift. Often, women working in the unorganised sector do not get covered and get left behind.
Conclusion
Menstruation is often considered a taboo and puts women at a disadvantage. The First Day policy will give women an opportunity to rest. As a society, we have to accept that menstruation is a natural and biological process and a lot of women find it difficult to work during the time of periods. It is high time a Bill on menstrual leaves is introduced and passed that mandates all working women in both organised and unorganised sector two days of mandatory paid leave. Further, it is the time to bring change in our labour laws and introduce two paid leaves across all sectors.