Annual Menstrual Leave for Women?
The outrageous dismissal and debatability of women’s reproductive rights is where our irritation lies. A woman’s reproductive health is not a political issue: There are social, cultural, economic, and political barriers to menstrual products, education, and sanitation.[1] Women around the world are grappling with issues of not being able to afford basic human needs such as menstrual and feminine hygiene products. Period poverty has led to medically documented health issues including depression and urinary tract infections. Current conversations should be addressing positive reproductive health education for young girls and women, publicly accessible menstrual products for all those that menstruate, and erasing the shame and stigmatism associated with a natural function of the female body.
Spain is the first country in Europe to pass legislation that allows women to use paid annual menstrual leave for work, transgender rights for teenagers, and abortion rights expansions. The new legislation has identified this traditionally Catholic country as becoming pro-feminist advocates for period poverty and reproductive rights. The law states that the new policy will help combat the stereotypes and myths that still surround periods and hinder women's lives.[2] Spain is not the first country in the world to pass legislation on paid menstrual leave. Under labor law “Article 68,” Japan implemented a paid menstrual leave act in 1947. Japan is not the only country in the world to pass legislation regarding this issue: Indonesia, Zambia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and South Korea have similar legislation in place as well.
Why is the “menstrual or period” conversation still so controversial in the United States and around the world? According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, “Period pain, or dysmenorrhea, is common; more than half of menstruating women experience pain for one or two days every month.”[3] Many women experience severe pain from menstrual related symptoms like headaches, cramps, nausea, and vomiting that prevents them for routine daily activities. However, the current political controversy and constant debate over acceptable provisions regarding a woman’s reproductive health has reached a new level of deflecting from the real issues of gender justice and menstrual equity. A woman must be free to advocate for the right to govern her own mind, body, and spirit.
Witnessing “paid annual menstrual leave” for women in Spain as part of legislation and conversation is a refreshing and encouraging change. This subject has become a global catalyst, creating more energy for women to advocate on behalf of all women who are forced to deal with their own menstrual problems in silence. By continuing to expose the dire need for more communication around the subjects of women’s reproductive health, period poverty, and menstrual equity, these inspiring moments of agency and advocacy continue to normalize this discussion for future generations.
[1] Michel J, Mettler A, Schönenberger S, Gunz D. Period poverty: why it should be everybody’s business. Journal of Global Health Reports. 2022;6:e2022009. doi:10.29392/001c.32436.
[2] Bello, C., & Llach, L., (2023). “Painful periods? Spain just passed Europe’s first paid 'menstrual leave' law.” EuroNews.Next. Retrieved from https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/02/16/spain-set-to-become-the-first-european-country-to-introduce-a-3-day-menstrual-leave-for-wo.
[3] Masih, N., (2023). Need time off work for period pain? These countries offer ‘menstrual leave.’ The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/17/spain-paid-menstrual-leave-countries/.