The paid Labour Force of our country, a big section of which is employed in the unorganised sector, has traditionally been a masculine concept with males dominating the numbers. However, the recent release of the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) figures indicates a different trend. Women are not only constituting the aadhi aabadi as a count of the total population1 of our country now, but also inching ahead to share an equal space in the overall LFPR. The Female LFPR has increased from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24.2 The recent surge in India’s GDP, indicating a robust economic growth, can be attributed to the increasing female participation in the labour force. The emerging data forces us to review the existing gender-responsiveness of our labour regulatory framework, and especially the new Labour Codes. Laws like the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, POSH Act, 2013, and the four Labour Codes notified in 2025 provide a progressively incremental indication of policies that pass the litmus test of gender equity and gender-responsiveness in creating humane conditions for working women. However, these laws and policies are yet to recognise and adequately respond to a key biological phenomenon, i.e. menstruation. Women undergo menarche and live a long span of life, fighting pain and stress every month until reaching menopause. Age-old taboos and restrictions had made it a matter of shame and, consequently, a matter to hide, leading to poor menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) practices. Recognising this, the Government of India (GoI) began promoting the MHH through its Swachh Bharat programme since 2011 focussing on increasing awareness and accessibility among adolescent girls about MHH and sanitary napkins, and to ensure safe disposal of sanitary pads in an environmentally friendly manner.3 But one can clearly see that these initiatives are more inclined towards educating adolescent girls and empowering them for the future. The issue of menstrual health and hygiene is not just about sanitary pads, their accessibility and affordability; it is also about the stress and pain, both physical and emotional, during and post menstrual cycle. Limiting this to only affordable and safe sanitary pads or awareness programmes on MHH does no justice to the issue. Therefore, the calls for Menstrual Leave/ Period Leave are gaining momentum worldwide. It has been implemented by three states: Karnataka(1day/month, 2025)4, Odisha(1 day/month, 2024)5, and Bihar (2 days/month, 1992), however, for government employees only. Some private companies, like Zomato (10 days/year, 2020), Swiggy (2021)6, Orient Electric (2022), and Byju’s have integrated menarche leaves into their human resource (HR) policy. This has prompted many corporates to review their leave policy in this light. Two universities of India, namely, the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and Gargi College of Delhi University, have also started allowing their female staff to keep their days off during the menstrual cycle. Demand for such leave is aligned with the right to social security and dignity (Art. 22), right to just and favourable conditions of work (Art. 23) and the right to rest and leisure (Art. 24) as enshrined under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The Constitution of our country enables the State to enact such special provisions that may be essential for the welfare of women [Art. 15(3)] and if it is read along with Art. 42 that mandates the State to provide for ‘just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief’, a strong case is built in support of working females to allow them a minimum of paid rest days during their period of intense pain and suffering. Several members of the Parliament have introduced Private Member’s Bills to draw the attention of the apex law-making body of our country to initiate a discussion around the issue. Menstruation Benefits Bill, 2017, the Women’s Sexual, Reproductive and Menstrual Rights Bill in 2018, The Right to Menstrual Hygiene and Paid Leave Bill, 2019, and The Right of Women to Menstrual Leave and Free Access to Menstrual Health Products Bill, 2022, are examples of such efforts, but haven’t been transformed into law. Internationally, while we in India have slowly begun recognising the need to discuss menstrual leaves, with sporadic results in some corporate companies, universities and civil society organisations, Japan, first country in Asia, had adopted this way back in 1947, followed by Indonesia (1948, renewed in 2003), South Korea (2001), Vietnam (2020), and Taiwan (2022). Spain (2023) and Zambia (2025) were the first countries in Europe and Africa7 to make their leave policies gender responsive. India, being the most populous country on Earth and having no such central policy, leaves a wider gap between the goal of a gender equitable workforce and gender responsive workforce policies. Resistance to this comes from a section of people who argue that such a policy could lead to discrimination or reinforce stereotypes about female employees. In fact, forcing a woman to come to work during her menstrual cycle may be looked at as discrimination if we see this issue through a different prism. A biological phenomenon cannot be and should not be the case of stereotyping. The legal and regulatory framework of our labour workforce must slowly recognise that a working woman faces the challenges of Triple Burden (women performing productive roles, reproductive roles and community or domestic roles). Advancements in digital technology and artificial intelligence may provide an answer where a work-life-body balance could be found for women undergoing stress. A mix of rights-based approach and responsibility could be an answer to the policy dilemma. By achieving balance, women can illuminate the world with even greater brightness. References: According to World Bank Group data, 48.5% of India’s population was female in 2024 www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2108281®=3&lang=2 www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1945842®=3&lang=2 karmikaspandana.karnataka.gov.in/45/department-orders-and-notifications/en finance.odisha.gov.in/en/notification/leave blog.swiggy.com/news/a-brief-note-on-our-commitment-to-increase-women-delivery-partners-in-our-fleet/ www.globalwomanleader.com/viewpoint/experts-column/menstrual-leave-policies-from-7-countries-across the-globe-nwid-219.html#google_vignette This article is written by Dr. Raj Shree Verma, Associate Professor, Rural Management Programme, XISS, Ranchi [Published in NIWAS Vartika - Vol-I, Issue-3 (Oct-Dec'25): A WASH magazine by SPM NIWAS, MoJS, GoI]