Demand for three days menstrual leave for women teachers in Uttar Pradesh

Women teachers of Uttar Pradesh have started a campaign for three days of menstrual leave every month.

Many teachers say that they have to travel long distances to areas where public transport is not good and school toilets are so dirty that they are not usable in general.

In these circumstances, the problems of female teachers increase further during menstruation.

The campaign started with the demand for three days off every month is now gaining momentum.

Uttar Pradesh Mahila Shikshak Sangh, an organization of women teachers of UP, is leading this campaign.

This organization represents two lakh women teachers working in 168,000 government schools.

The Uttar Pradesh Mahila Teachers’ Association represents two lakh women teachers working in 168,000 government schools.

During menstruation

Sulochana Maurya, the principal of a school in Barabanki district, is the president of this teachers’ union.

Sulochana Maurya says that more than 70 percent of women teachers are working in rural areas.

Sulochana Maurya told the BBC, “It is well known that women need to rest during menstruation because many women have to face physical and mental problems in these days.”

“So, going to school in rural areas by covering a distance of 30-60 km adds to the trouble.”

She says, “Public transport is not even accessible in some areas. In such a situation, these women teachers take many problems and sometimes reach the school by tractor and bullock cart.”

Many Indian women do not even have access to clean toilets and sanitary pads.

‘Use the school toilet in emergency only’

A female teacher, who teaches in a village 200 km from Lucknow, said on condition of anonymity that the teachers use the school toilet only in an emergency.

“We have six toilets in our school but they are all dirty most of the day. They are not cleaned every day and hundreds of children use them. These toilets are not usable,” he said.

“Teachers who have a house nearby, their work gets done. If they have to go to the bathroom, they can go home. But for those people who come from far away or from other villages, this is a big problem.”

Sulochana Maurya told that many girls also do not come to school during menstruation. She says, “At present we are demanding menstrual leave for women teachers. Later, we can also raise our voice for the girls studying in the school.”

Period leave

The concept of menstrual leave is not new in India.

In the last few years, many private companies like Tata Steel and Zomato have announced period leave for their women employees.

In Uttar Pradesh’s neighboring state of Bihar, women government employees can take ‘special leave of two days every month due to physical reasons’. The provision of menstrual leave is applicable in Bihar for the last 30 years.

Sulochana Maurya questions, “So why can’t Uttar Pradesh do the same? We are all citizens of the same country so why are there different rules in different states?”

Sulochana Maurya and the members of her staff organization have put forth their demand in front of the State Women’s Commission.

Demand for female teachers

He also ran a campaign on Twitter for this one day, meeting ministers, MLAs and public representatives and put his point in front of them.

But a government spokesman told the BBC they had not yet made a decision on the demand for female teachers.

Teachers’ demand has once again brought the issue into focus whether period leave helps working women.

This has been an issue on which people have divided opinion for a long time.

While a section sees it as a progressive step, some who hold different views believe that giving menstrual leave strengthens the notion that women are weak in the working world.

Awareness about menstruation

Many women say that getting a break during painful periods proves to be helpful for them.

While some argue that it actually hinders the progress of women because employers will use it as an excuse to give less opportunities to women.

Tanya Mahajan of the Menstrual Health Alliance of India, a network of NGOs working to spread awareness about menstruation, says that period leave makes things easier.

She says, “Especially for women who have to go through painful periods. Because they can take a day off. But many women in the working world are still hesitant to ask for period leave. This problem is compounded when , when the boss is a man.”

There is a reason for this too. Menstruation in India is still an issue on which people avoid talking openly. Women are considered impure during menstruation and have to face discrimination within their homes.

Challenging old ideas

During this, women are separated from social and religious activities. They are not allowed to go to temples. Even in the kitchen they are prevented from going.

In some tribal societies of India, during menstruation, women have to live in separate huts in the forests outside the village.

Although urban society and educated girls are challenging these ideas, yet people still talk about menstruation in a suppressed language.

It was revealed in a study that 23 million girls have to drop out of school at the age of adolescence because they do not have the means of clean menstruation. The schools neither have clean toilet facilities nor are they provided with sanitary napkins.

Tanya Mahajan says that giving period leave is definitely a step forward. What is more important is that people can talk openly about menstruation.

She says, “But are these talks happening? Are all offices and schools providing women with clean toilet facilities? Merely changing the policy doesn’t change anything unless steps are taken to implement it.” “