Menstruation not 'handicap': Smriti Irani opposes paid leave policy

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani expressed her opposition to the idea of paid menstrual leaves for women as she answered a question by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) member Manoj Kumar Jha in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

"As a menstruating woman, menstruation and the menstruation cycle are not a handicap; it's a natural part of women’s life journey…" Irani said.

Jha had asked about the measures that the government was taking for making compulsory provisions for employers to grant a certain number of leaves to female employees.

"We should not propose issues where women are in some way denied an equal opportunity just because somebody who does not menstruate has a particular viewpoint towards menstruation,” Irani added.

Furthermore, she informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has formulated a draft menstrual hygiene policy in consultation with stakeholders.

The Centre already implements a scheme for the promotion of menstrual hygiene among girls in the 10-19 age group, she told the House.

The scheme is supported by the National Health Mission through the State Programme Implementation Plan route, based on the proposals received from the states or Union Territories. One of the major objectives of the scheme is to increase awareness on menstrual hygiene, Irani said.

The health ministry has formulated a draft menstrual hygiene policy in consultation with stakeholders, she added.

She also highlighted the other initiatives taken by the various ministries for the promotion of menstrual hygiene.

This comes after the personnel ministry had said the matter of special menstrual leave for women government employees is a health-related issue and can be best examined by the health ministry, according to a report tabled in the Parliament on Monday.

The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice had in its report noted that "menstruation debilitates most women and affects their productivity and performance at the workplace" and recommended menstrual leaves or sick leaves/half pay leaves per month or year for women without seeking any medical certificate or justification in return.

Earlier, replying to a question by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on December 8, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani informed the Lok Sabha that there is no proposal under the consideration of the government to make a provision for paid menstrual leave mandatory for all workplaces.

(With PTI inputs)