Author: A. Gemma Maria Suzzana.
Introduction:
Menstruation is a natural and biological process that occurs in a woman’s body. Every woman in the world undergoes menstruation. Menstruation is a process of shedding blood from the uterus through the vagina of women for 5 to 6 days every month. A woman undergoes several changes in her body throughout her lifetime. Ordinarily, a woman used to undergo menstruation from her teens till her fifties (13-50). A woman’s body gets ready for reproduction when she attains puberty. Every month after her puberty the female reproductive system, the uterus, produces eggs. The eggs if subjected to fertilization[1], transformed into an embryo[2] (human offspring), if they didn’t subject to fertilization, then they would come out as menstrual blood through the vagina from the uterus and this process is known as Menstruation. Menstruation is also known as Periods, Chums, Girl Flu, Aunt Flow, Crimson Tide, and Menses. Menstruation is an inevitable process, which ensures that a woman’s body is healthy, except during pregnancy.
During menstruation, a woman undergoes severe pain in her abdominal region. Menstruation creates intense pain due to abdominal and pelvic cramping, lower back pain, nausea, bloating, sore breasts, and pain in calf muscles. And some also suffer from headaches, food cravings, food aversions, fatigue, diarrhea, constipation. And all these illnesses will be associated with unavoidable irritability. Some women may face minor illnesses and some may face major diseases. A statistic says, 50% of women face dysmenorrhea[3], which restricts the women from doing their day-to-day work. To be simple, the pain a woman suffers in her periods will surely interrupt her from doing work. The pain disturbs her work, makes it hard for her to proceed with her work, and reduces her consistency in her work. Countries like Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Zambia provide Menstrual Leave to their working women. Some countries offer paid menstrual leave and some countries like Japan offer unpaid menstrual leave to their women employees. Obviously, in India menstruation is considered as ‘Taboo’ and it is popularly known as ‘Periods’. In India, a woman during her periods is asked to sit and sleep alone. So far Indian women don’t have menstrual leaves and don’t have any legislation to authorize the same. Surprisingly, in 2017 there was an introduction of a bill, to provide menstrual leaves, in the Lok Sabha, known as the Menstruation Benefits Bill, 2017. So, in this article let us have a clear discussion about the Bill.
The Bill:
The Menstruation Benefits Bill, 2017 was emphasized first by Ninong Ering, an MP from Arunachal Pradesh, in Lok Sabha. Ninong Ering, while introducing the bill, cited research conducted at University College, London. The research says that a woman who is during her periods not only faces discomfort but also sees a decline in productivity in the first and second days of her menstruation. The Menstruation Benefits Bill, 2017 addresses the misbelief around menses. The bill seeks to provide two-days paid menstrual leaves to the women working in the public and the private sector as well. The bill also provides menstrual leaves to the girls who are all studying VIII class and above. The bill applies to every woman irrespective of the sector she works. The bill works across the sectors, industries, and jobs. Therefore, the bill is not only for the women who are engaged in white-collar jobs but for every woman irrespective of their collar of work. Women during menstruation undergo unimaginable pains and discomforts and it is difficult for them to concentrate on work. Therefore, the bill aims to provide better working conditions and better facilities to the women during their menses, in her workplace.
Notable Features of the Bill:
The bill aims to provide certain reliefs and gains for the female employees in their workplace and also for the female students studying in and above VIII standard, during menstruation. The facilities, gains, and relieves are enumerated under the provisions of the bill, 2017. They are:
- The Bill-Application
Section 2 of the bill says that the bill applies to every woman employed in any sort of job. It also says that it applies to women working in both the public and private sectors. It also applies to self-employed women working in unorganized sectors.
- Menstrual Leave-A Right to be claimed
Section 4 of the bill is the most important provision. This section says that every woman is entitled to claim paid menstrual leave or leave from the school. This section empowers women to claim menstrual leave from the workplace or school for four days. This section gives the right to women to claim paid menstrual leave and enunciates the concept of the Right to Menstrual leave. Therefore, a woman, working as an employee in an establishment or a student studying in and above VIII class in a school, recognized by the appropriate government can claim their right to take menstrual leave. Section 4 also provides grants as overtime allowance for the women who are working amidst menstruation.
- Relaxation in Working Hours
Section 5 of the bill provides a thirty minutes’ break, twice a day, for four days every month during menstruation, for every woman working in any establishment.
- Facility of Creche
Section 6 of the bill permits any establishment having fifty employees or above to provide the facility of Creche.
- Obligation
Section 7 puts an obligation over the establishment to inform the female employees about the benefits available to them during menstruation, either in writing or electronically, at the time of their appointments.
- Right to Self-Perception of Menstruation
Section 8 of the bill establishes the need for recognition of menstruation. It says that every woman has a right to self-perception of menstruation.
- Redressal
Section 9 of the bill says that if any woman faces any difficulties in getting the benefits of the bill, she can approach the Internal Complaints Committee, which is established under Sexual Harassment for Women in Workplace (Prevention and Prohibition Act), 2013 to seek redressal. And also, the women can approach a similar grievance redressal committee to gain relief.
- Punishments
Section 10 of the speaks about punishments for not complying with the bill. The bill provides punishments to the person who doesn’t grant leave to a woman during her menstruation, who prohibits the woman from taking menstrual leave, and who interrupts, denies, disturbs, and discontinues any prescribed rest or relaxation or any recreation facilities available for a woman during her menstruation. And those persons will be punished with an imprisonment of one month which can be extended to three months, and also be punished with a fine of ten thousand which can be extended to fifty thousand rupees.
Impact of the bill:
The proposed bill has both positive and negative impacts. The bill has its significance and criticism. The positive and negative impacts are listed below.
- Positive Impact
The bill will address the untold stories of a woman. The bill emphasizes menstruation as a natural and biological process and it doesn’t consider it as abnormality and disability. The bill will satisfy the desired needs of every woman, as the maternity act did. The bill creates a more women-friendly environment for female employees. Women empowerment is an important topic in India, and introducing such a bill will add more power to women. The bill recognizes menstruation as a legitimate requirement in the workplace. It keeps menstrual leave outside from the purview of sick leave. The paid menstrual leave makes it more comfortable for working women and removes the extra stress the woman has about the deduction income due to taking leave during menstruation. The bill would make the female employees feel more heard, supported and understood. The bill confers a right to take menstrual leave, over the working woman. The denial of menstrual leave under the bill is subjected to punishments and this imposes an obligation over the employers. Providing relaxation and leaves during menstruation increases the productivity of the women in their work.
- Negative Impact
The proposed bill is a war between equity and equality. Equity is availing benefits for those who require it, whereas equality is providing benefits for all without discrimination. The bill will create discrimination in the workplace between men and women and will pressure men with heavy workloads. It also characterizes women as weak and incapable of doing work. The bill has proposed to provide menstrual leave for four days every month. The woman will take nearly one and half a month (4×12=48 days) in a year which exceeds the normal limit. This will surely reduce the company’s productivity. And a hiring company will be hesitant to hire women. Because there will be many possibilities for a company to think, why should I hire a woman who takes off four days every month, which reduces my company’s productivity? The women may suffer from slow promotion, inconsistency, and low participation in their work. Therefore, the bill, on one hand, will be a hindrance for women also. Most importantly, not every woman would face discomfort during their menstruation. Some can work amidst menstruation. In such a case providing menstrual leave becomes a trump card.
Conclusion:
The proposed bill will enhance the working conditions for a woman during her menstruation and also address the sufferings of a woman during menstruation. In India states like Kerala provide menstrual leave for their female students since 1912 and Bihar has provided special leave for women for two days every month, since 1992, called Special Clauses leave. But the practicality of the bill is questionable. Because the bill may invite discrimination in the workplace and in some cases, the bill may be misused yet a much-needed change for the welfare of the women.
References:
- https://www.writinglaw.com/menstruation-benefits-bill/
- https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2021/02/menstrual-paid-leave-and-menstruation-benefit-bill-a-conundrum/
- https://feminisminindia.com/2018/02/01/menstruation-benefit-bill-2017/
- https://feminisminindia.com/2019/09/20/need-menstrual-leave-policy-india/#:~:text=The%20Menstruation%20Benefits%20Bill%20seeks%20to%20provide%20women,Class%20VIII%20and%20above%20in%20government%20recognized%20schools.
[1] Alberto Monroy, Fertilization, BRITANNICA (Updated on July 26, 1999) https://www.britannica.com/science/fertilization-reproduction
[2]Embryo, BRITANNICA (Updated on July 20, 1998) https://www.britannica.com/science/embryo-human-and-animal/additional-info#contributors
[3]Dysmenorrhea, CLEVELAND CLINIC (Updated on November 20, 2020) https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4148-dysmenorrhea