Odisha Govt Declares 1-Day Menstrual Leave Policy For Women In All Jobs

On the 78th Independence Day, August 15, Thursday, India saw yet another development when the  Odisha government announced one-day menstrual leave for all working women in both private and government sectors.

This is a decision that was widely hailed by the women's rights activists as well as the women employees. Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida announced during the Independence Day's auspicious celebrations at Cuttack. The women and child development department of the state government would soon come up with detailed guidelines to extend the menstrual leave to the working women, official sources said.

Odisha Govt Declares One-Day Menstrual Leave Policy

“Earlier menstrual leave was not allowed. Now, it would be optional for the working women to avail leave on the first or second day of the menstrual cycle. It will be applied for both the government and private sector employees,” Parida told reporters after attending the celebration.

Ranjita Priyadarshini, a woman activist from Odisha, had also drawn the attention of all the delegates at the International Conference regarding the paid menstrual leaves for women. She advocated strongly for the physical pain that women go through during their menstruation cycles.

Odisha to set an example for all Indian States

Odisha is finally the third state after Kerala and Bihar to bring up a menstrual leave policy for working women amid a nationwide demand for such paid leave for students and working women. The new BJP  government’s decision came a month after the Supreme Court on July 8 asked the Centre to consult all the stakeholders on the demand for such a policy for working women.

Officials said the announcement helped the new BJP government to uphold the image of a “progressive government”. However, out of over four lakh employees working under the state government, around 1.5 lakh workers are women. Even though there was no official data in this regard, over five lakh women are estimated to be working in the private sector.