Why in news :- Zomato announced female and transgender employees to take up to ten days of paid "period leave" per year.
Relevance of syllabus:- Social changes in india, Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division of labour,Challenges of social transformation and violence against women.
Menstrual leave is a type of leave where a woman may have the option to take paid or unpaid leave from her employment if she is menstruating and is unable to go to work because of this.
Social functions of menstrual leave policy.
1.Gender sensitisation :- modification of the behaviour of society towards the menstrual leave.
2.De-stigmatization of menstruation as taboo :- stigma of menstruation both reflects and contributes to women’s lower social status.it requires re-socializa-tion within the organization.
3.Progressive social change in the society:- law as agent of social change .
4.High female participation in the workforce :- Ex- global average of female participation rate is 23.3% whereas japan- 44.5%( menstrual leave policy since 1947 ) and south korea-42.1%.
5.Strengthen women right to menstrual leave:-
Article 15 - state can discrminate for welfare of women ( protective Discrimination )
Article 42 - make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity reliefs
Social dysfunctions of menstrual leave policy
1.Gendered workplces :- menstrual leave turned “a normal biological experience into a monumental event", “ghettoized women" Widen the gender gap.
2.Right to menstrual leave will give employers another reason to discriminate against women workers :- ex:slower promotion, hiring bias and lesser pay.
3.Strengthen the biological determinism :- using biology against women to ofter equal opportunities and assignments.
Levitt and Barnack-Tavlaris :- says it may perpeturate stereotypes and further the medicalization of menstruation.
4.Biological essentialism:- social difference and constraints creat our differences not that biological essentialism. few feminist argue that Period leave is biological essentialism.
5.Legal lag :- 100 state and 40 central laws relating from industrial disputes to working conditions, No uniform period leave policy.
6.Social detternce :- hire men instead to compensate period leave
Social aspects of menstruation
1.Cultural Norms and religious taboos :- Discrimination against menstruating women is widespread in India, they are often excluded from social and religious events, denied entry into temples and shrines and even kept out of kitchens.( Ex-sabarimala issues )
2.Luck of awareness and sexual education :- menstruation knowledge remains limited leaving many girls with negative and ambivalent feelings and experiencing psycho-social stress and it lead to further isolation. 71% of adolescent girls in India are unaware of menstruation until they get it themselves.
3.Social control :- Menstruation, therefore, becomes a signal for the society to restrict, control and monitor a woman, hampering her personal, educational and professional growth
4.The patriarchal control exerted to constraint women’s behavior and mobility during menstruation undermines their agency and equality”
5.Need social education :- create awareness about menstrual health and hygiene.( Pad man of India + suvidha and ujjawala schemes )
gender stereotypes have been constructed, structured and perpetuated. Sharing about periods with the family or anyone else may damage the image of a ‘good girl’; plus, the image of the family gets attached to the image of the girl in the larger society
''What we cannot talk about,we cannot change''
