Kerala announces menstrual leave for students

• As part of the government's "aim to realize a gender-just society," the Kerala government announced that it will provide menstruation leave for female students in all state universities under the Department of Higher Education.
• A girl who has reached the age of 18 or older is qualified to use 60 days of menstrual leave per year, according to the ruling.
• With this, the attendance rate for female students is set at 73% rather than the customary 75%.

Menstrual cycle:

• Each month in females, one of the ovaries releases an egg for fertilisation.
• The uterine wall strengthens as it gets ready to receive the fertilised egg.
• However, if fertilisation does not occur, the uterine membrane cracks, allowing blood and mucus to exit via the vaginal opening. Menstruation or the menstrual cycle are terms used to describe this event.

Significance and concern for the move:

• It will be easier to develop workplaces and schools that are more inclusive and accommodating if there is a move towards recognising and resolving the frequently terrible pain and discomfort that so many are frequently compelled to work through.

Concerns:

• Menstruation is still considered taboo in traditional societies like India, so a special period vacation could turn into yet another justification for discrimination.
• Although menstrual leave is permitted in similarly traditional societies like South Korea and Japan, fewer women take advantage of it due to the stigma associated with menstruation.
• There is a chance that a natural biological process may be medicalized, which could reinforce existing biases against women.
• Employers' reluctance to hire women may grow as a result of the perception that period leaves reduce productivity and raise costs for the company.

Past step in this direction:

• Government of Bihar offers two menstrual days off per month in 1992.
• 2017: The Menstrual Benefits Bill 2017 was introduced in Parliament to give both public and private employees two days of menstrual leave each month.
• 2020 saw Zomato offer its female and transgender staff up to ten days of annual menstruation leave.

Worldwide:

• This policy was originally put into effect in 1947 in Japan. Menstrual leave regulations are in place in nations around the world, including Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Zambia, Sweden, and Mexico.
• Spain has attempted to pass a new law establishing paid "menstrual leave."

Period poverty:

• Lack of understanding and access to menstrual hygiene products can have a detrimental effect on a person's health, education, and general well-being which is referred as the period poverty

Menstrual Hygiene:

• Period hygiene is one of the most difficult developmental concerns that women face today, particularly in poor nations like India where institutional biases, cultural norms, and mindsets impede women from receiving the menstrual health care they require.
• Despite the fact that menstruation is a normal and healthy biological function for women, it is nevertheless frowned upon in Indian culture.
• Even today, it is quite difficult to get young girls to learn about menstruation hygiene because of cultural and social effects on people.