Should Women Get “Menstrual Leave”?
Yes please, I feel like someone is crushing my ovaries with a nutcracker.
Today, I had to go out and do some reporting on the Indian elections, despite the fact that I had just got my period and felt like there was a pixie in my uterus with a pick-axe, mining for gold. For a long time, I have known that Murphy’s law applies to my periods, meaning that they will always come either when I have important sex plans with someone who doesn’t enjoy period sex, or when I have to go reporting and will be the spending the day running around, with little access to a bathroom and lots of people to meet and seem normal in front of.
As a freelancer, you can’t really take a day off when you need it, not just before a deadline at least. Then again, in offices, it isn’t that easy either. A survey by YouGov in 2016 showed that 57% of women felt their period had affected their work on at least one occasion. Only 27% felt comfortable telling their boss that they were suffering from period pain, the rest made up an excuse, or said nothing. The persistent stigma around menstruation pushes women to suffer in silence.
One solution often suggested for this is to instore menstrual leave, a policy that affords women suffering from cramps one or two days off work. In several countries, from Zambia to Japan, it already exists.
But while supporters say it helps break the taboo around period pain, others say that the policy has been counterproductive in the country’s where it exists, reinforcing negative stereotypes of female workers as being weaker, and less capable of doing important jobs.
So is Menstrual Leave a good idea?
The Pain is Real
During their period, many women experience pains in the lower abdomen and back, and some can also experience lightheadedness. The pain ranges from mild to severe and is caused by the contractions of the muscular wall of the womb. It can last for two to three days, and for around 10% of women is painful to the point of severely derailing their daily lives.
But while this pain is normal and common, it is also routinely dismissed by health professionals. This explains why women suffering from…
