Here’s Why Some Women Are Against Period Leave

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I was just about to close my eyes for the night when my phone beeped. “Are you awake?” It was my friend Arwa Kapasi. She is the manager of a medical center in UAE. “I need to discuss something with you.” Knowing Arwa, I knew that whatever it was would have been bothering her to ping me at this time. “Yes, tell me,” I replied. “Are you for this period leave? I am not. And I wanted to know your opinion to see if someone could make me see the other side.”

Since Zomato announced ten day extra annual period leaves for women, social media has been abuzz with debates. For or against, I must say that at least the conversation is happening around a topic that was once shunned under the carpets and not discussed out loud. Period leaves were sick leaves only and that left women with no allowance for sick leaves when needed for other illnesses.

Now to get back to Arwa, I, for one, am for period leave. Or at least I was till she got me thinking. “If we want to be equal I don’t want to give them a reason to remind them I am a woman…. Give the guys off too. That way when we get hired they both men and women cost effective…. If I give this an option, I bet you even if not a single woman nurse in my clinic is facing the problem, will ensure they avail the leave… Bigger companies will prefer men over women and will make a shift in their hiring policies. And women won’t even notice that… Women who would acquire those leaves even by law will be considered not too dedicated and more of a liability….Also, it’s not fair to the men… Imagine the male banker who will have to handle more customers that day when his lady colleague calls in sick due to cramps?” These were some of her reasons.

Much ado about that time of the month?

Period leave is actually a privilege that could definitely be misused. But again we cannot oversee the necessity of it for those women who have a hard time during their menstrual cycles. Period cramps, heavy bleeding, nausea, loose motions- dysmenorrhea is real and I have seen women throwing up and bundling up in bed during their initial days. Though, this may not be the same case for everyone as this is a personal experience. Some have it worse than the other. Many of us pop in a pill and go about our chore. For some others, medication doesn’t work.

Also, we need to understand that most working women handle their everyday household chores at the same level as other housewives. Not everyone has a great support system at home or the luxury to afford cooks and maids. So for these women handling a painful period and functioning effectively to fulfill these responsibilities is a huge task. Also, access to clean and hygienic sanitation places and toilets at workspace (to comfortably change pad/ tampon/ drain menstrual cups) is again a privilege and a luxury, not all working women have.

In 2017, journalist Barkha Dutt had written an article titled “I’m a feminist. Giving women a day off for their period is a stupid idea.” As an offset to a campaign that was started by some women in India for a day off during their period.

She writes, “‘First-day period leave’ may be dressed up as progressive, but it actually trivializes the feminist agenda for equal opportunity, especially in male-dominated professions. Worse, it reaffirms that there is a biological determinism to the lives of women, a construct that women of my generation have spent years challenging. Remember all those dumb jokes by male colleagues about ‘that time of the month’ or PMS? Well, this idea only serves to emphasize that there is something spectacularly otherworldly about a bodily function.”

NO @ShashiTharoor menstrual leave ghettoises women, becomes one more excuse to close certain professional doors on women and treats the monthly period as a grand event instead of routine biology. Here's a piece I wrote in @washingtonpost on thi this https://t.co/OKqDslqpuZ https://t.co/f6N6sDS8Lw
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) March 8, 2020

Journalist Faye D’Souza held a discussion on the same on her YouTube channel with women from different backgrounds. Faye asked if we have created safer spaces, stable work environments, hygienic sanitation places, where we expect women to work harder, dig themselves further, bear the pain and buck up and pretend as if nothing is happening. With these discussions, women, today have the power to clear these obstacles for the other women to come.

Should Companies Have Period Leave Policy For Women?@KushaKapila says, "The reality is the pain can get unbearable. When I got my period last week, I could not move for two days and because I am self-employed, I gave myself leave for two days."#PeriodLeave #Zomato #Women pic.twitter.com/JCS0gK4NWZ
— Faye DSouza (@fayedsouza) August 11, 2020

Digital content creator Kushka Kapila said, “The reality is the pain can get unbearable. When I got my period last week, I could not move for two days and because I am self-employed, I gave myself leave for two days.”

But gynecologist Dr. Kiran Coelho was of the opinion that the painful period was only a problem of 5% of women and younger women have it worse than the older women.

What is the solution?

When we ask for equal rights, we are asking that based on our skill sets and intellectual abilities. Physiologically women are different and certain allowances have to be made for them in that aspect.

Organisations should get a consensus from their women employees and come up with a system based on employee requirements of the organisation. If there are 50 women working and 40 agree that they don’t need menstrual leaves, then the other 10 can compensate by working a ½ hour extra to compensate for the missed hours. The onus is on them to achieve their targets on time.

“I feel we need an HR law and policy to be thoughtful and accommodating legally for the menstrual cycle”, added Arwa. “Give them an easy pass, which is still a privilege versus a man. And then adjust your shift to justify your missed hours or work”.

Work-from-home is another option that can be extended to women. “But we are here not accounting for labourers, factory workers, mine workers, and daily wagers”, said lawyer Trisha Shetty in the discussion with Faye.

“Most HR professionals’ support periods leave to women,” says Liyaquat Ali, an HR professional. “Some women cannot perform to their optimum during painful periods there is no point if it doesn’t add value to their productivity. So the work of the female staff on leave is equally delegated among her peers. But there is always a black sheep (male employee) in every organisation that objects and seeks a similar (non-monetary) benefit to this rule”.

While feminism stays divided on this, we would love to hear your thoughts on the same. Please feel free to comment below, or mail us on infano.care@gmail.com

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Read how this woman did her bit towards her school and hostel by donating menstrual hygiene products to the inmates with Team Infano.

I have a help, Mary who has been working at my home since the past 10 years. She is like family to me – has helped me maintain the well-being of my family, has helped me through my difficult times when my family members were sick, been a support when I had to leave my kids at home for outstation work assignments, has helped raise my kids with me.

We have grown up with each other… literally. She comes from a humble background, has a husband who has been addicted to alcohol for years now and three daughters. I have seen her work hard, literally willing to do anything to make things work for the family. I now see her daughters all grown up, taken up jobs and doing well in life. I feel a sense of pride when I talk about Mary and the independent daughters she has raised.

Today, I want to tell you the story of her youngest daughter, Soumya. When Soumya was young, things were really tough financially at home. Her elder siblings were studying well and it was getting increasingly difficult for Mary to make ends meet. She was at a stage when she felt that it would be even difficult to afford a school for Soumya. She heard about a girls’ hostel and school run by a few Christian nuns and approached them for Soumya’s schooling. They took her in. Soumya was just 6 years old then.

Once she joined school, Soumya was allowed to go home to her family only three times a year, and as a kid it was difficult to accept that. She had to adjust living with girls of different age groups and from varied socio-economic groups. It was tough for a six-year-old. Discipline was utmost important, helping in day-to-day chores of the hostel was a given, no reason was good enough to skip school, prayers or physical exercise. It all seemed unnecessary at that point, it all seemed way too strict. Soumya studied there till grade 10 and came out as a confident girl ready to take on life. The school brought a new perspective in Soumya’s life.

Soumya is now doing her graduation and has also taken up a part-time job. This Women’s Day, when she came to know about the “I Challenge to Change” campaign by Infano, she felt that she is ready to take up a challenge in life. She remembered her growing years in the hostel – the discomfort of periods every month, the lack of menstrual knowledge, the scarcity of menstrual hygiene products, missing someone to talk to – someone who could give her some explanations as to why, how, and when. Soumya wanted to do something for the menstrual hygiene of the students of the hostel.

Team Infano with Soumya, visited the hostel, spent time with the kids and the Sisters in-charge there. The hostel was well managed, even in these difficult COVID times. Though initially reserved, shy, and giggly, when we mentioned periods, the girls slowly opened up. The conversation touched upon several topics like menstrual cramps, the importance of hygiene, various period products, biodegradable organic products like the period products from PeeSafe (after all, the environment is our responsibility too!). It made the Infano team realize that there is still so much more that we need to spread the word about menstruation. We are really happy that youngsters like Soumya actually want to make a change in the lives of young girls. It’s a start for her – beginning with the place that helped her become what she is.

This rather simple real-life story has inspiring tales of strong women embedded in it – the story of Mary who struggled all her life but made sure she raised strong, capable daughters, the story of the Sisters at the hostel who have selflessly devoted their life to the upliftment of young girls and of young Soumya, who has a raring desire to do whatever she can to give a better life to the less privileged young girls.

We can draw inspiration from these women to do whatever we can in our capacity, big or small, to make a change because small changes put together can make a big difference in the future. Building a strong, independent women community is our hope and dream.