Smriti Irani Defends Menstruation Not 'Handicap' Comment, Says Didn't Want Women To Be Harrassed At Workplace

Referring to her menstruation not “handicap” comment in the Parliament on December 13, Irani said she opposed a paid period leave as she didn’t want “more and more women to be harassed”.?

"Why should a woman's menstrual cycle be known to her employer,” the Union Women and Child Development Minister said, after her initial comments in the Parliament fueled discussions across the country.

Responding to Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Manoj Jha’s query in the Rajya Sabha about the BJP’s stance on paid menstrual leave for women, Smriti Irani had said “as a menstruating woman, menstruation and menstruation cycle is not a handicap, it’s a natural part of a woman's life journey.”

This came after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor raised a similar query in a previous Lok Sabha session, to which Irani had responded, "No proposal is under consideration by the government to make provision for paid menstrual leave mandatory for all workplaces.”

The BJP MP’s comments ignited a debate with many supporting her “equality” argument while others calling her out for being insensitive to women’s pain.?

“We don’t want to create new challenges for women where they get harassed or for that matter where they are getting discriminated against,” Smriti Irani said in her interview with ANI.?

"For you to mandate (menstrual leave) and make it lawfully implemented, people have to report implementation. Imagine a scenario in private sector. When somebody has to implement it, your HR guy has to know, your accounts guy has to know...why should a women's menstrual cycle be known to the employer."

This isn't the first time the matter has been brought up. In February of this year, the Supreme Court declined to intervene in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) advocating for menstrual pain leave for female students and working women nationwide.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asked the petitioner to approach the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare made a plan earlier this year, which aims to support helping with flexible work, like working from home or taking leave. Despite the plan, Smriti Irani spoke against formulating a menstrual leave policy.

What experts are saying

Aditi Gupta, who is the co-founder of Menstrupedia, a company aimed at spreading awareness about menstrual health and hygiene through creative comics and interactive sessions, said she believes having a menstrual leave policy in place will not propagate discrimination or harassment against women at the workplace.

“Menstrual pain is not the same for every woman. I run a company of 25 people and we’ve had this leave policy since 2017,” she said in an interview with Outlook.

“Those workplaces which give menstrual leave and other kinds of leaves like maternity leave or parental leave, they actually say that we care about your health, we care about what you’re going through.”

The entrepreneur said having the option of taking period leave promotes a positive environment at work, “These menstrual leaves are optional, in my company also there are women who will take menstrual leave, some of the women don’t take menstrual leave.”

“But this compulsion that you are suffering from pain and you are sitting in the office, and thinking I have to still work and be productive actually is counterproductive.”

Aditi Gupta says making a period leave available to women is a great move given that not all women experience period pain the same.?

“Not all women experience the same kind of period pain and not all women will avail period pain leave. Period pain could be minor to something very severe. It could cause a lot of discomfort and just to sit on a chair and work. There is enough research done to show that sometimes it can be equivalent to even getting a heart attack.”

Aditi Gupta, however, does agree that having menstrual leave as a mandate would lead to more discrimination against women.?

"She is absolutely right that if management is not understanding the sensitivity of whether the period leave should be given or not and if the government will have to enforce it, it will only create more barriers for women, discrimination."

Aditi says Smriti Irani’s concern about employers finding out that their employee is menstruating goes against her initial “menstruation not handicap” remarks normalising periods.?

“Firstly, not everyone knows you're on your period. Only HR knows or maybe your team members. Also even if they find out so what. When you have a fever, you’re contagious, you don’t come to the office or when you have a cough and cold, people know because then you wear a mask, stay away,” she says.

She believes period is already a taboo topic in India and such remarks as given by Union minister Smriti Irani exacerbate the stigma around menstruation.

How people are reacting to Smriti Irani’s comments

Mamaearth co-founder Ghazal Alagh took to Twitter to provide a “solution” to the debate.?

“We have fought for centuries for equal opportunities & women's rights and now, fighting for period leave might set back the hard-earned equality,” her post read.

“Imagine employers factoring in 12-24 fewer working days for female candidates. A better solution? Supporting work from home for those in pain,” she added.

Expressing her views on Instagram, Kangana Ranaut debunked the notion of a "working woman."

"The concept of a working woman is a myth; there has never been a non-working woman in the history of mankind,” she said in her Instagram story.

"Unless it is a specific medical condition, women don't need paid leaves for periods. Please understand, it is periods, not some illness or handicap."

While BRS member Kavitha Kalvakuntla shared her disappointment on the “dismissal of menstrual struggles”.

“Menstruation isn't a choice; it's a biological reality. Denying paid leave ignores the genuine pain countless women endure,” she said in a post on X.

“As a woman, it's disconcerting to see a lack of empathy for the genuine challenges women face and the fight we have to put up for everything. It’s high time to indeed bridge the gap between policy-making and reality with empathy and reason.”

Several social media users have expressed their ire at the BJP MP’s comments saying the one-size-fits-all-approach for periods is incorrect.

Menstrual leave policy in other countries

Spain leads in Europe, granting women up to four paid days annually for menstrual symptoms. It became the first country in Europe to allow women to take menstrual leave in 2021.

Indonesia's 2003 law allows two paid days monthly without notice, though enforcement is inconsistent.?

Japan permits menstrual leave without pay since 1947. In South Korea, women are entitled to one unpaid day monthly.

Taiwan provides three yearly menstrual leave days at half pay.? Zambia allows a day off during periods since 2015 while Vietnam offers three paid days monthly.

Even in India, Bihar and Kerala, already have menstrual leave policies. Bihar has a history of nearly three decades, dating back to the Lalu Prasad Yadav government, which granted government employees two days of paid menstrual leave each month. Kerala, on the other hand, introduced menstrual leave for all students in government institutions in January 2023.