Period Leave: Why You Shouldn’t See Red

Archana Pai Kulkarni writes a brutally honest and passionate piece on why we need to understand the idea of period leave. She says when it comes to period leave, let the woman decide whether she needs it or not and whether she requires it on the first or the last day of her menstrual cycle, the level of her discomfort being the yardstick. 

A digital media company has announced that its women employees can avail of leave on the first day of their period. Often, just the utterance of the word ‘menstruation’ or ‘period’ or ‘chums’ (the last probably coined by a suffering woman trying to befriend her period), raises hackles. So, this decision was bound to trigger fierce reactions—sniggers, ridicule, indignation, anger, joy, and relief. So extreme is the response to this biological function that some celebrated male writer had wrung his hands in exasperation and declared that he was through with reading yet another woman writer’s work featuring menstruation. Too bad, considering he was nourished by this very ‘gross’ blood when he was an embryo, and born out of it too. It’s amusing how a simple fact of life—that women menstruate—elicits either urgent shushing with a pointer on the lips, no less, or sheer contempt or mushy romanticising. Add the word ‘leave’ to it, which the fashionably workaholic species is highly allergic to, and you have a volatile situation. Red alert, if you please.

Add the word ‘leave’ to it, which the fashionably workaholic species is highly allergic to, and you have a volatile situation. Red alert, if you please.

As it is, women get pregnant and deliver babies, and they demand maternity leave too. That it should be perceived as an inconvenience by organisations, which pride themselves on teamwork and a well-oiled machinery, is astounding. Professional monoliths don’t collapse when a couple of women take leave of absence for 3-4 months to nurture their babies. Some of these brats later rise to vantage positions, from where they, ironically, resent sanctioning maternity leave. That procreation is required for the continued existence of the human species is a fundamental truth. A newborn needs both its parents in its formative months. While fathers have the privilege of opting out of parental responsibility citing professional reasons, mothers are left literally holding the babies. Biology, love and the fact that they carry the mammary glands dictate it. Creating a fuss about a temporary break in work is not just puerile, but also misguided resentment against a workforce, which no longer needs to prove its efficacy.

Now, with all that leave already in their kitty, do women need yet another day off? Every month? For their period? Isn’t it an excuse to shirk work? Won’t it make women look weak? How many privileges do women want? Reserved seats in the bus, reserved compartments in trains, reservation in parliament, and so on. Shouldn’t they be taking these painful contractions and the risk of conspicuous stains in their stride? What’s the big deal? Sure, to some, the period is just a bit of an inconvenience, that comes and goes quietly and requires minimal protection. Like they depict in the advertisements for sanitary napkins, they could perform the Grand Jete with the grace of a skilled ballerina. But, there are others who double up with severe pain and probably change their napkins every half hour. Gross? Well, it’s reality. The latter would rather take a day off, rest, recuperate and return to work with newfound energy. While the rest of the workforce takes a day or two off for minor headaches or major migraines or irritable bowel syndrome or high blood pressure or increased sugar levels, which could perhaps be avoided with a better lifestyle, the period leave would be taken for an unavoidable natural cause.

Shouldn’t they be taking these painful contractions and the risk of conspicuous stains in their stride? What’s the big deal? Sure, to some, the period is just a bit of an inconvenience, that comes and goes quietly and requires minimal protection.

What’s new? Back in the days when women were relegated to the smoky confines of their kitchens, rarely seen and hardly heard, rolling out a large pile of hot chapattis, some wise woman, probably worn out by the menial work she was compelled to do on those days of the month, did come up with a super rest-and-recoup plan of 4-5 days of period leave. It was a smart move, in which the woman was relieved of her duties and retreated to a darkened room (melatonin, the hormone made by the pineal gland, which helps control sleep and rest is released in the dark), and enjoyed her much-required me-time. She spent some precious moments with herself, a luxury she couldn’t afford otherwise. Unfortunately, over the years, the practice degenerated into a travesty, which branded women impure and untouchable and marginalised them when they bled. Protests ensued, and rightly so.

What do they say about coming a full circle? That’s where we are now. Back to the basics. It’s simple: human beings work better and are far more productive when there is a balance of activity and rest. The human body sends signals periodically (pun unintended), when it needs rest. Timely rest is known to boost productivity. Whether a woman takes leave for her period or a man takes a day’s off for his prostrate problem, it is myopic to view it as a weakness. Rest is a wonderful battery recharger. It’s not in opposition to activity but complementary to it. Now, when it comes to period leave, let the woman decide whether she needs it or not and whether she requires it on the first or the last day of her menstrual cycle, the level of her discomfort being the yardstick. Whether it’s casual leave or sick leave or period leave, paid or unpaid, it’s entirely her privilege. And no, it doesn’t make her a lesser professional, because she knows that it is not just the number of days she punches in that matters. What counts far more is the quality of her work. Period.

Archana Pai Kulkarni is a journalist, Creative Writer, Blogger
Views are the author's own