New Delhi: In recent days, ‘Working women’ are in discussion for two major reasons.The first being the magnificent performance of the Indian women cricket team in the recently concluded World Cup and the second is about the period leave offered by some organisations.

Public discussion of periods is still considered a taboo in many parts of the world. But it has generated a debate in India since the last month.

Though uncommon in India, one might be surprised to know that women employees in Bihar government services have been eligible for two days of leave in a month for this purpose, though not specifically stated, since 1992.

Along with that, menstrual leave is part of the leave policy in several other countries like Japan, Indonesia, Italy and South Korea.

The first day of menstruation feels like fighting the battle of Waterloo singlehandedly for some; for few others it may be a cakewalk, with mild discomfort. This brings the hot debate — do women in India need period leave? Is it a welcome move to make offices more women-friendly? Or will it ostracise women in the work space?

With the advent of social media, a lot of women, media organisations and individual blogs along with a variety of content produced by anonymous artists have addressed the acceptance of menstruation and difficulties associated with it. 

Thanks to all of that because two Indian organisations decided to surprise their female employees with the “good news”. Gozoo and Digital Media startup Culture Machine, implemented a policy, starting this month, allowing women employees to take a day off on the first day of their period. 

The company has also petitioned union ministers Maneka Gandhi and Prakash Javadekar to give all women in India the option to take leave on the first day of their period. The company says the leave policy is an attempt to fight taboos surrounding menstruation in India. 

But the policy hasalso had its share of criticism saying that such initiatives goagainst the spirit of gender equality. They argue that menstrual leave will only reinforce negative stereotypes about women in the workplace. This may lead to hiring or promotion discrimination.

A section of female rights activists argues that period policy is a regressive return to the dark days when women were discriminated based on their biology. The section also says that such policy undermines and somehow disintegrates whatever feminism has achieved so far. 

Burkha Dutt, an inspiration for many women tweeted her views. The whole idea looked a bit barmy for this noted journalist, because women totally live through hard working days despite periods. Women like her, for example.

“It’s great that Period is no longer a Whisper & we now discuss issues openly. But a day off for it reinforces it as some sort of 'problem', tomorrow it will be used as an excuse to block women from Combat roles, Conflict zones, Police etc, ”she tweeted.

Also, many raised debate saying companies give equal number of sick leaves irrespective of gender then why if someone have cramp will get extra paid leaves. And if they can't come to office then why can't be asked to do work from home? Why company should pay women for 12 days every year for doing no work on those days. At one end women want equal rights, equal opportunities and at other end they want special privileges which are not fair, is their view.

On the other side some say, the move will encourage women to speak up about the discomfort of period pain; more and more people will become aware of the discomfort that comes with menstruation and will accept it as a normal process and not something taboo.

Interestingly, several men are in favour of period leaves. As the topic gained heat on the internet in general and social media platforms in specific, males supported the idea lauding it for being all inclusive.

According to them, the move would have been a special privilege if both men and women had periods and only women were allowed leave. Periods are an important part of life, faced every month by women only, often disturbing their physical ability to function like a healthy person. Men do not have to face any such discomfort on a regular basis. 

“I believe woman has many roles and responsibilities. They are no less than men at any work. But one should not overlook the fact that god has gifted us a special responsibility of being a carrier of life. We woman are the ones who conceive and contribute to the human race, without us it’s impossible. We go through pain every month, I believe just a paid leave is not much we are asking,” Says Nita Kharwar, Associate Producer, SOL Productions.

“Who wants to work when Mood swings and cramps, haunt us on the days of our period. These haunting thoughts make me want to pick my phone and take a sick leave but we are not even considered sick. Thanks to those Mumbai and Kerala based companies that came up with an amazing solution, by setting an example for companies like ours. Now may be everyone can understand what we go through every month,” says, Avantika Singh, a Journalist.

Periods are like they're a punch in your shin, another and another one. Although not everybody experiences it, but almost all of us have heard women talk about the endless excruciating pain, the cramps, the nausea, the headaches, and what not, they have to go throughand it’s always Day 1 which is the toughest.

Therefore, the pain that women go through during their period requires little explanation. Let’s ask Gynaecologist, Dr Ritu Jain from Vardhman Medicare Centre, Gurgaon.

"The medical term for period pain is dysmenorrhoea. The first day of a woman's period can be challenging and uncomfortablefor many. Around 40% of women in India suffer such severe pain which is enough to disrupt their normal life. They were unable to carry out their usual daily activities because their periods is accompanied with symptoms, such as bloating, tender breasts, a swollen stomach, lack of concentration, mood swings, clumsiness and tiredness," she explains.

She further said, "Menstruation is a normal part of a woman's life but the severe period pain is not. Sometimes we do not take period pain seriously because we thought it is Natural. But I will advice that do not simply put up with it. Withdrawing from other daily activities can be a good idea instead for those women who suffer severe pain during their first day of period and still go through the chores."

When asked is the leave justified or not, she said, “If a woman is feeling better in her mind, she is bound to perform better than being forced to work even in acute discomfort. So, it's best to give them a short leave in order to help them return to work refreshed for better productivity. But as not every woman suffers the same intensity of pain, theleave should be kept optional and not compulsory."

There are 336 million women of reproductive age in India. Research tells us that 45% of them think that menstruation is not normal and 52% do not know anything about menstruation. These statistics throw light on the hidden problem related to menstruation, which is unfortunately shrouded in social taboos and myths.