The food delivery and restaurant rating service Zomato is often in the news – sometimes for good reasons, at others not so good. Zomato is now in the news for announcing that their female employees would get ‘period leave’. While some have hailed this decision as progressive and ‘woke’, others feel that this is a further setback for women’s empowerment and the mainstreaming of women employees.
There are those who say that this is unjust and gives special treatment to some employees based on gender. Women striving for equality should not look for special treatment; it undermines what women have been fighting for, for so long they feel. Many men have expressed the view that this is akin to offering women special and unnecessary privileges – much like reserved seats in public transport. Those who speak for men’s rights feel that this is hypocrisy, where women fight for equal rights but demand special privileges at the same time.
Some women also feel that this move of Zomato's is wrong and that giving this type of special leave is an acknowledgement of female weakness. They feel that this strengthens biological differences between men and women. According to this view, measures such as period leave further ‘ghettoises’ women. They feel that it views females as victims of their biological limitations; an acknowledgement that women need special concessions.
This is the sort of thing that positions women as ‘weak’ and somehow less than their male counterparts and in need of a crutch of some sort, they feel. Plus, this could hinder a woman's professional progress. Others in the organisation may use this as an excuse to pay women less; legitimising a hiring bias against them.
Also, why call it period leave? Why not just offer a few days of extra paid sick leave? This is not a meaningful move from Zomato; just a politically correct measure to appear woke, say those who are against this move.
The first reason why many think this move of Zomato is a good idea is that it dares to speak out about something that is still a taboo subject in our society. Periods are natural and universal but are still shrouded in secrecy, shame and distaste. They are still treated as something dirty and disgusting. Starting a conversation around this helps normalise the whole phenomenon, freeing women from the need to hide away or feel ashamed about this most natural of processes. This in itself a positive thing.
Secondly, it is a fact that women do in fact suffer discomfort and pain ranging from the mild to the severe each month. This pain can be quite disabling in some cases. This is not something that women choose to undergo. Why not acknowledge the pain and discomfort that women – only women, not men – go through? After all, we have had the concept of maternity leave for women because it is women – and not men – who become pregnant, bear children and lactate. If women undergo the extra pain and burdensome processes surely there should be some measures put into place to balance out those biological imperatives? Surely, the burden of not being discriminated against should not fall upon women?
As for those who say that this is about women taking unfair advantages and claiming unnecessary concessions that men don’t have, they are wrong as well. If I were to hazard a guess any woman who is debilitated by the pain of menstruation would be happy to pass this on to men – along with the ten extra days of leave!
This is the bottom line – if one is not a woman who experiences sometimes crippling pain, heavy bleeding and other symptoms such as nausea, tenderness and terrible mood swings – then one really doesn’t have a say in the matter.
A study shows that painful periods interfere with 20% of a woman's daily activities. Many women feel that such special provisions could be implemented in schools as well – it could be life-changing for so many young girls. Those who feel that women just need to suck it up and get on with work without complaining clearly have to idea about the kind of disabling pain that some women go through on some days of the month. So, as activist Saket Gokhale pithily puts it, no uterus, no opinion (not original, but applies here).
This is voluntary leave so there is no need for any woman to take the leave if she chooses not to. Several countries and organisations already offer period leave and statistics show that only about 8% women actually claim ‘period leave’. So clearly this is not some privilege that is commonly misused.
In the dim and distant past, there may have been a similar backlash when women claimed maternity leave. However maternity leave is now a given in any workplace – it could be that period leave soon will be as well? Maybe, maybe not – but right now we are all at least speaking about something hitherto treated likes some dark shameful secret. It’s a good beginning.
In the meanwhile can we all try not to tell women what to wear, how to behave and let women decide what they want to do – for themselves?
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