by- Abhigya Singh
INTRODUCTION: EXISTENCE OF PERIOD POVERTY AND THE NEED TO MEET BASIC HYGIENE NEEDS FOR INCIPIENT PROGRESS
“I just have to tough it out while being present for all the responsibilities in my life.” I still remember my mother uttering these words a couple of months back, in absolute vexation, while going through her menstrual cycle. It reminded me of how before the pandemic hit us, I couldn’t sit through a single physical lecture without thinking of anything but the pain, on the days that I happened to be on my period. Most days, I wouldn’t even be able to attend classes. Astonishingly, this is just the case for those of us, who aren’t just acquainted with how to go about our periods, but are befittingly educated about it. We are taught to be mindful about what to do while our cycle is ongoing, we know what medication to take if the symptoms are rather excruciating and we’re better aware of how to take our time out to repose and slow down while being vocal about what we’re facing.
However, as already stated, this isn’t something that holds true for myriads of girls out there who face an arduous cycle of discomfort, pain, isolation and shame when their period arrives. While on one hand, there’s convincing evidence to prove how women today have more menstrual periods than ever before, that too starting at an earlier age, on the other hand, the global sanitation issue called “period poverty” continues to persist. This essentially entails the lack of suitable and sustainable hygienic infrastructure including sanitation facilities, water, waste disposal mechanisms and safe/private washrooms, while a woman is menstruating. In most middle-income countries like ours, women also have a very limited access to sanitary products and continue to rely on proxy materials for the absorption of flow. All of this, coupled with the deep-seated stigma and the absence of any discussion on or familiarisation with menstruation in schools or families, makes the task of normalising periods, extremely challenging. In light of this, meeting the basic hygiene needs of women in our country is a fundamental concern, be it for the purposes of health or dignity. Distribution of sanitary napkins in localities, provision of period products and safe washrooms in schools and even prisons alongside raising awareness on period hygiene and attenuating the stigma and fear is a burning need. This can be done with the help of government run schemes and the involvement of health workers, teachers and community leaders.
But is the fairly basic period education and de-stigmatization all that is required? The answer is certainly a no.
A REQUIREMENT FOR BENEFITS EXTENDING BEYOND STANDARD EDUCATION ABOUT PERIODS
When girls in our country face the onset of their periods with utmost shock and find it difficult to meet their basic hygiene needs even thereafter, what would they know about menstrual reliefs is a pertinent question that arises. However, this doesn’t imply that additional benefits shouldn’t be extended. It cannot be repudiated that every girl needs to be educated about her body and the natural processes it goes through, to begin with. However, menstruation is a natural process in “every” woman’s life alike, whether she belongs to a rural or urban area. On this note, the benefits should extend beyond standard dissemination of knowledge and products.
We all know about maternity leaves that exist to protect the mental and physical health of a woman during her pregnancy period. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 extends to all establishments with over ten employees and necessitates the offering of maternity benefits to women. Not only does this safeguard the health of a woman while she is experiencing unusual symptoms but also ensures gender equality and a larger female workforce participation in the long run. The question boils down to a situation that meddles with a woman’s productivity, and if the period of pregnancy isn’t covered under the larger bracket of medical leaves, then menstruation too should not be generalized. Needless to say, many women experience debilitating pain, tiredness and a variety of emotional symptoms. Some may even suffer from extreme conditions like endometriosis. This, undeniably calls for a menstrual leave policy.
The topic of menstrual leaves has always been hotly debated, and some may even call it regressive for a number of reasons, the main one being, “gendering of the workplace.” Just like the famous journalist Barkha Dutt views period leaves as a form of “biological determinism” and the use of biology against women. It can be said that this perpetuates sexism predominantly as it would lead to hiring bias and differential treatment in terms of salaries. However, an argument against the same can be that every workplace needs to acknowledge the social divisions and accommodations of certain kinds cannot be seen as biology being an impediment in the way of creating equality.
When we say that period leaves will lead to “gendering of the workplaces”, we need to reflect upon the fact that those who advocate against period leaves talk about gender as a social construct, that is something that objectively exists in society and this is the only basis of all differences for them. Even so, we cannot overlook the fact that women and men are indeed biologically different, as a matter of fact. This results in different levels of work efficiency and productivity during certain times and any sort of conveniences made for women in this regard, shouldn’t be seen as entirely unacceptable. Just as we make special platforms for disabled people who are “biologically” different, we can make exceptions for women too.
SUGGESTIONS FOR INCLUSION OF MENSTRUATION RELIEF BENEFITS AS A LEGISLATIVE MANDATE
It is true that most people have issues with “generalized period leaves”, since all women do not experience the same intensity of symptoms. Hence, in my opinion, the first step is to create policies that mandate the designing of workplaces that keep in mind the female needs and are more focused on feminine intimate requirements, for example, access to clean and female-friendly toilets, affordable women hygiene materials, disposal mechanisms, information and support. Facilities like such will help create an all-inclusive business environment and help those women with moderate symptoms to manage working in the extenuating circumstances. Secondly, the “number of days” for which period leaves can be granted, should be fixed with a good amount of deliberation. Companies with more female employees must make sure the policies are even more well chalked out.
There has already been a lot of discourse regarding the menstruation relief bill and in my opinion, the first step is to execute the bill alongside giving each company the freedom to develop amenities and fix the number of days to be afforded for leave. Furthermore, the orthodoxy and stigmatization around periods needs to be negated so that no woman receives differential treatments based on the belief that she is exaggerating or amplifying the pain and being dramatic about the symptoms. Lastly, even if a bill like such is implemented, the benefits fail to reach all of those who’re in dire need of it, especially women who earn their wages on a daily basis and work in the absence of vital facilities. Conditions like the laws being applicable to companies or establishments with over ten employees etc, puts unreasonable restrictions on the reach of such laws, thereby defeating its very purpose.
Hence, what’s imperative here is to ensure that such legislation, after being enacted, do not remain as “phantom legislation” with no substantial effect and their ability to produce desired results can only be realized if the stringent conditions are done away with.
Author:
ABHIGYA SINGH, Second Year Student at NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, JODHPUR
