Period Leave, why still a question?

Periods are a very normal process in a woman’s body that happens every month. It is not a sickness or a medical issue. However, they come with many symptoms that make it difficult for us to function normally and hence reduce the level of work we can put in. I don’t think that period leaves should still be a question for companies to offer or not.

Although I knew about what periods were before they started for me, still I was a little scared when I saw blood suddenly one day when I went to pee. I shouted, called my mom and told her what I saw. She calmed me down and helped me recollect what she had told me about menstruation. As a teenage girl that was scary for me, not knowing that many scary experiences were yet to come every month for most of my adult life. For a few months, period days were bearable for me, but soon it started turning into a horror story. I remember almost fainting in school because of the jarring, unbearable pain and still gaining some strength to pull myself up to reach the medical room for help. It felt like coming back from death (not even exaggerating). However, through medication, that situation got better.

But period days are still not very splendid, they can still be a dreadful story in whole other ways. Every month brings about different symptoms and experiences. Cramps, hot flushes, nausea, headache, insomnia and I am sure I am missing some more. Sometimes they come in breaks or they come in as a group too (yay)! And as we grow up, these symptoms keep on changing, never failing to surprise us. In fact, period itself can be a surprise sometimes, even though you are tracking it. Oh wow, I forgot about the mood swings, which start 4-5 days before we actually have our periods. People will just ask you if it’s that time of the month, if we are a little cranky or in a low mood, not knowing that even we cannot control those moods and no, it’s not always periods. It’s only a week for a woman's body when it is not going through the process around periods; the rest of the month, our body is busy with the process.

In my opinion, not only in offices but it’s important to offer period leave in school, universities and other educational institutions. However, there is a lot of dilemma around it, of if it's gender biased, if every girl needs it or not, if it will reduce the power of women in decision making or if those leaves will lead to misuse.

I believe the first step before any of this is to educate people about menstruation, to educate not only girls/women but also boys/men so that even if they can’t feel it, but at least understand better and take better decisions regarding this. I could go through my problems around periods because I knew in the first place what they were and people around me have been supportive, but that’s not the case with a large population in our country. According to the United Nations, 20% of Indian girls drop out of school after reaching puberty because they are not educated about it correctly and it's the same for people around them as well. For this situation to get better, whether in local or urban areas or school, colleges and offices, it is important to educate people.

Second, the taboo of talking or expressing about periods should be removed. Talking around it should be normalised from childhood itself, it should be clear that menstruation is not a medical situation but a natural process in a woman's body and hence should be implemented as a different leave and not a medical leave in offices and in all kinds of educational intuitions.

I have seen my fellow students or colleagues suffer during their first and second day of the period. For some, the first days are difficult and for others, the second day is also pretty uncomfortable. Regardless of that, they attend school or come to the office because asking for a leave or stating this reason for not being present itself feels very uncomfortable. We don’t find the correct words to express what we are going through and end up saying that we are sick. This never feels right. If talking about periods is made normal, with people being aware and sensitive to the same, it will be really helpful for girls/women in their place of study or work.

Big companies like Zomato and many start-ups in India have taken steps for the same and their female and trans gender employees are feeling supported and happy with the decision and when asked, they thought that all the offices should start implementing it. Sanctioning period leaves is not something questioning equality, it’s about being aware and supportive. In fact, men who are actually aware and educated about menstruation are fully supportive of it. Regarding the dilemma if every woman needs it, it’s their choice if they apply for it or not, but making an option available for them is the chief motive. Finally, about the leaves being misused, again it depends on person to person on how they treat it, but this goes for any other leave or policy of their workplace. If a person wants to misuse they will anyway, I think it’s an invalid point for not sanctioning a period leave.

With the pain or symptoms we are suffering from, during menstruation, sometimes it’s difficult to even get up from bed. How is it expected to treat menstruation as a sickness or any other medical issue if it doesn’t even happen with the other half of the population? I believe that in order to ease out those tough days for girls/women, 2-day period leave with attendance in all kinds of educational institutions and 2-day paid period leave in offices should be sanctioned every month to girls/women, studying or working there.