Women are perceived as malfunctioning and their hormones [as] out of balance, rather than seeing the organisation of society and work perceived in need of a transformation to demand less constant and disciplined productivity of a certain kind.
-Emily Martin
INTRODUCTION
Food delivery app Swiggy has taken a major positive leap after the company has announced the rollout of a monthly two-day time off policy during periods for its women employees. The female employees can avail two days of paid leaves every month. While some people reacted positively, others reacted negatively to Swiggy’s announcement. When Zomato, Swiggy’s contending food delivery company revealed their period leave policy a year ago, many people were outraged, despite the fact that they weren't the first to do so. They discovered it to be biased towards men, and inequality appeared to be a cause.
Menstrual leave has been linked to controversy and discrimination against women throughout history, with just a few nations establishing legislation; it has also been linked to low uptake in those countries that have established rules. Some see it as bigotry or a critique of women's job efficiency. Menstrual leave supporters link the policy's role to that of maternity leave and see it as a step toward gender equality.
MENSTRUAL LEAVE
Menstrual leaves, often known as period leaves, are day offs from work reserved only for menstruating employees. At the turn of the century, a menstrual leave policy was implemented in various job sectors in post-Revolutionary Russia; however, due to discrimination against female workers, the policy was repealed in 1927.
Every woman has menstruation, which is a monthly cycle of regular vaginal bleeding. During menstruation, some women have minor or mellow discomfort, while others experience severe and incapacitating agony that prevents them from performing regular tasks. Around 80% of women experience pain during menstruation, but for 5% to 10% of women, this discomfort is severe enough to impair their lives for a few days.
WHY IS MENSTRUAL LEAVE IS IMPORTANT
Menstruation is a perfectly normal biological procedure that keeps a woman's body in good shape. It is, however, accompanied by discomfort and excruciating pain. Period pain, also known as dysmenorrhoea, affects roughly half of all women on the planet. Menstrual pain not only causes discomfort but also interferes with your everyday activities in a variety of ways. Periods may be a nightmare for women, with headaches, abdominal cramps, sluggishness, anxiety, loss of energy, and nausea, weakness, lack of concentration, and poor emotional control are some of the unpleasant symptoms, all of which have an impact on a woman's performance. Some women's conditions are so severe that they are on the verge of passing out.
Also, painful menstruation diseases such as PCOD, PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, and other related health conditions can be excruciating for women. Period leaves may provide a more pleasant work atmosphere for those who plan their schedules around their periods, and being excused from work may be a welcome reprieve. The addition of period leaves has additional advantages. Period leaves can help broaden the dialogue around periods in a country like ours, where periods are still taboo subjects to discuss.
For those who do not have good access to healthcare or sanitation in the workplace, menstrual leaves could also help them manage their periods in a better way and let go of the 'inconvenience' attached to periods.
MENSTRUATION BENEFITS BILL, 2017
Ninong Ering, a Congress Lok Sabha MP, introduced "The Menstruation Benefits Bill, 2017". Women employed by both public and private establishments registered with the Central and/or state governments would have been entitled to two days of menstrual leave each month, for a total of 24 days of leave per year, under the Bill.
Despite the fact that there are various grounds for the Menstruation Benefits Measure's introduction, the government is hesitant to enact the bill due to widespread criticism, including some from women themselves. There have been numerous disputes over whether or not the bill should be passed, and opponents have raised some important points to consider.
SWIGGYS INITIATIVE
Swiggy has become the country's fastest-growing food tech platform, The firm's success, according to the report, is primarily due to its concentration on logistics. Swiggy, unlike other food tech platforms, has always ensured that they have their own fleet of delivery drivers. This ultimately became a trend that other platforms followed. Swiggy offers three types of incentives to delivery people, or as they call them, "delivery partners." A weekday incentive, a weekend incentive, and a monthly reward are all available. Hours of labour profits from each delivery and the number of rejects is used to compute these incentives (of orders). Swiggy and Zomato are also cooperating with eateries to ensure that women delivery partners have access to basic amenities like washrooms. To ensure that everyone is safe Swiggy also stated that partners, including men and women, will have the option to decline an order if they believe the situation is unsafe.
It's past time for corporations to become less corporate and more human and environmentally conscious, rather than fighting forces beyond their control. Not only the government but the private corporations too can take a variety of other steps to ensure gender equity, including making the workplace more gender-sensitive and inclusive, understanding the situation of a menstruating woman and providing her with breaks when she needs them, providing sanitary napkins at work, having separate toilets for men and women, and properly disposing of sanitary napkins. Menstrual leave policies can be successful, but other steps should be adopted as well.
CONCLUSION
In India, menstrual health rights have long been argued, but there hasn't been enough progress to make a difference. As India's socioeconomic conditions evolve, so does information and education about menstruation health. Recognizing the need for menstrual leaves becomes even more difficult in a diverse demographic like this. Menstrual leave has a stigma attached to it, which may reinforce misconceptions and contribute to the medicalization of menstruation. Taking leave may need informing male bosses about a personal matter that the woman believes is a personal matter. It has the potential to portray women as less capable than men, leading to greater prejudice against women. Providing more medical leave for persons of both genders is one option for removing the stigma.
REFERENCES
https://blog.ipleaders.in/should-the-menstrual-benefit-bill-be-passed/