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Menstrual leave doesn’t work in ‘real world’. And that real world is designed by, for men

When a woman menstruates, when/if she decides to marry, when/if she decides to have kids, should not be factors when looking at a woman’s potential from a hiring standpoint.

I hate asking men for help. I think 10 times before I do. And I would never let anything get in the way or hold me back when competing with a man. But I do not agree with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s words. I am fully in favour of mandatory menstrual leave.

The CJI’s remarks, one could argue, make sense in the ‘real world’. But the real world view can no longer simply be a man’s perspective. His reasonings, warnings and worries for women make sense, but only when applied in a society deeply lopsided in favour of men.

A particularly turbulent bout of Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) a few months ago got me thinking—is it possible that I have, for years, not been acknowledging my menstrual pain in fear of being thought of as less efficient than a man?

The rules must change for women to realise their true monstrous potential (in the best way). In my ideal world, menstrual leave would be mandatory. A precedent must be set, and the reality of the pain must be upheld as sacrosanct. Treat it like a fever, only that period pain is not occasional; it is a monthly cycle dictated by biology.

Menstrual pain makes you feel unwell. If you are unwell, you must rest. Sure, it sounds ideal, but isn’t that what we must work toward?

Also read: Period pain is real. Blanket menstrual leave policy isn’t a fix

No more silent bearing

I am also uncomfortable with the remark that menstrual leave would harm women’s careers, and that no one will then hire women. Yes, in a patriarchal world, it would. But that’s exactly the cycle we must break.

Should we raise girls in a society that will continue to propagate this, possibly for time immemorial, if nobody stands up? A CJI’s words and the decisions of the Supreme Court hold great power to shape mindsets. Why should a man dictate that a very real, physiological impediment to working to one’s fullest potential ought to be disregarded as something women must silently bear?

I don’t need to point out that menstrual pain can be crippling for several women. You are, quite literally, walking around bleeding. You are bleeding as you work, you are bleeding as you walk, you are bleeding as you clean, you are bleeding as you help your kid with their homework, you are bleeding as you cook all day for a dinner party you couldn’t cancel.

And it’s not just the bleeding, it comes as a nasty package deal with mind fog and an emotional dumpster fire.

Honestly, I don’t know how to paint an accurate picture of this for men. They have never felt it!

Also read: In India, pushing through a policy is easier than changing a culture. Period

Acknowledge period pain

Women are the biggest victims of our jugaadu approach to the workforce. Get as much out of as little as possible. It’s this approach that fuels the thought process that mandatory menstrual leave will harm a woman’s career prospects. When a woman menstruates, when/if she decides to marry, when/if she decides to have kids, should not be factors taken into consideration when looking at a woman’s potential from a hiring standpoint.

Want men and women on an equal footing? Acknowledge menstrual pain.

I’ll end on a more positive note. I just read a Reddit thread posted by a man who asked how he can be supportive of his long-distance girlfriend who has endometriosis. He wrote that he was trying to educate himself even though he cannot fathom how it really feels. A beacon of hope.

After all, the blue liquid in sanitary napkin ads has turned blood red.

(Edited by Theres Sudeep)

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