NEW DELHI: Recognising the essentiality for menstrual leave for female students and employees, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Union government to examine taking a policy decision on the issue after studying the need and the possible fallout of employers getting dissuaded to engage large female workforce.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala initially contemplated seeking response from the Centre on a PIL by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathy seeking a pan-India policy on menstrual leave for females, from educational institutions to offices and factories.
The petitioner said only Bihar and Kerala grant menstrual leave to women. Bihar had introduced paid menstrual leave for two days for women employees as far back as 1992 during the chief ministership of Lalu Prasad. In Kerala, CM Pinarayi Vijayan had on January 19 announced that the state government would provision three-day period leave for female students.
When the bench had dictated the order issuing notice, a law student through advocate Satya Mitra pointed out that mandatory period leave could adversely impact employment of women in the private sector as employers could perceive a large female workforce to be a disincentive for business or trade. The bench, which had earlier cajoled the law student, saw merit in the caveat and left it to the policy decision of the Union government.
The CJI-led bench said, “She (the law student) has a point. If you compel employers to provide paid menstrual leave to women employees, it may impact their business or serve as a disincentive, and they might avoid taking in a large number of women employees.”
“We feel it is an issue for the Executive’s policy decision,” the bench said, asking the petitioner’s counsel Vishal Tiwari to submit a representation in this regard to the Union ministry of women and child development for necessary action.
The recognition of the issue of menstrual leave as an essentiality in the social paradigm by the Supreme Court came a week after Spain became the first European Union country to introduce paid menstrual or period leave of three to five days, salary for which would be paid by the government. It also made provision for menstrual hygiene products at educational and social centres as well as prisons.
Tripathy’s petition said, “In spite of provisions in the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, to take care of women in difficult stages of her maternity, the very first stage of maternity, which is the menstrual period, has been knowingly or unknowingly ignored by society, the legislature and other stakeholders in society, except a few organisations and state governments.”
The erstwhile Soviet Russia had taken a policy decision to pay women workers who were absent from work because of pain during the menstrual period. Japan had enacted a law in this regard in 1947. South Korea followed suit in 1953.
A few provinces in China – Ningxia, Shanxi and Hubei, and Liaoning – have provisioned two-day paid leave for women employees. Indonesia offers women two days’ leave a month, but they rarely take it because employers perform physical examinations on them before allowing the leave. The petitioner said the UK, Wales, Taiwan and Zambia are among other countries which provide menstrual leave.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala initially contemplated seeking response from the Centre on a PIL by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathy seeking a pan-India policy on menstrual leave for females, from educational institutions to offices and factories.
The petitioner said only Bihar and Kerala grant menstrual leave to women. Bihar had introduced paid menstrual leave for two days for women employees as far back as 1992 during the chief ministership of Lalu Prasad. In Kerala, CM Pinarayi Vijayan had on January 19 announced that the state government would provision three-day period leave for female students.
When the bench had dictated the order issuing notice, a law student through advocate Satya Mitra pointed out that mandatory period leave could adversely impact employment of women in the private sector as employers could perceive a large female workforce to be a disincentive for business or trade. The bench, which had earlier cajoled the law student, saw merit in the caveat and left it to the policy decision of the Union government.
The CJI-led bench said, “She (the law student) has a point. If you compel employers to provide paid menstrual leave to women employees, it may impact their business or serve as a disincentive, and they might avoid taking in a large number of women employees.”
“We feel it is an issue for the Executive’s policy decision,” the bench said, asking the petitioner’s counsel Vishal Tiwari to submit a representation in this regard to the Union ministry of women and child development for necessary action.
The recognition of the issue of menstrual leave as an essentiality in the social paradigm by the Supreme Court came a week after Spain became the first European Union country to introduce paid menstrual or period leave of three to five days, salary for which would be paid by the government. It also made provision for menstrual hygiene products at educational and social centres as well as prisons.
Tripathy’s petition said, “In spite of provisions in the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, to take care of women in difficult stages of her maternity, the very first stage of maternity, which is the menstrual period, has been knowingly or unknowingly ignored by society, the legislature and other stakeholders in society, except a few organisations and state governments.”
The erstwhile Soviet Russia had taken a policy decision to pay women workers who were absent from work because of pain during the menstrual period. Japan had enacted a law in this regard in 1947. South Korea followed suit in 1953.
A few provinces in China – Ningxia, Shanxi and Hubei, and Liaoning – have provisioned two-day paid leave for women employees. Indonesia offers women two days’ leave a month, but they rarely take it because employers perform physical examinations on them before allowing the leave. The petitioner said the UK, Wales, Taiwan and Zambia are among other countries which provide menstrual leave.
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