FlippED is an ED Original style wherein two bloggers come together and share their opposing or orthogonal perspectives on an interesting subject.
Blogger Aaroosh’s Opinion
My question is: What if men menstruated?
I am sure we wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place if men were the ones menstruating. It’s not like periods is something which a woman gains pleasure out of but it is the discomfort which women go through. So the fact this policy discriminates against men makes no sense.
If we consider the point of discrimination, let us understand that women tend to earn less than what men earn especially in India. Therefore even if they are offered a leave for 2 days a month, it would surely compensate for their comparatively lower wages.
Those who don’t want to hire women don’t need additional excuses not to. Women continue to be laid off and sometimes not preferred to be hired because of paid maternity leave.
But that does not mean we simply scrap it off. Even if this policy of period leave can be unpaid and it is implemented up to a certain level of a two day duration is not much to ask for.
We have to simply accept the fact that women are biologically different. Also, it is true that periods are weary only for some women but we just cannot ignore the other half.
Estimates of the Endometriosis Society based in India suggest that over 25 million women suffer from endometriosis, a condition where the period pain is so bad that women nearly pass out from it.
Not only this, women suffer from symptoms like cramps, nausea, fever etc. With all this, it’s just impossible to pull a 9-10 hour shift for anyone. Getting a day off will only shoot up the productivity of women the next day.
There is this taboo surrounding periods with women feeling uncomfortable in telling their seniors that they are in pain. This is just problematic.
Both women and men employees already take leaves calling it ‘sick leaves’. All the ‘official’ day will do is ensure women can just tell their employers the truth so that fear of confiding in someone is brushed away.
Finally, providing them with the option of working from home holds the key. Through this, both purposes are served and can make employers consider period leave as an option.
Blogger Anjali’s Opinion
Do We As Feminists Need A Special Leave?
My question to all those who want a leave from work in the name of periods is… Do we really need one? With this, won’t we ghettoise women? In my opinion… Yes, We Would.
This question comes up in an era when no sphere of life is untouched by the feminist wave. The undisputed objective of feminism, when talked about in its true sense, is “giving power to women to be at par with men and achieve their dreams”.
And when we strive to achieve our dreams, do we need to show ourselves as weaker than men? Obviously not.
I am a feminist and being one, it is my duty to oppose anything which hampers the position of the fairer sex in society. It is true that periods are not always pleasant but, they are a part of our lives and we are used to it. We know how to deal with it and don’t need a leave for the same.
We can proudly say that yes, we are menstruating and we can take it. We aren’t weak; we don’t need to take refuge of a day off from work.
Also, men do go through a lot of hardships, be it in their personal or in their professional lives. And when society expects them to man up and keep their problems to themselves, their pain and agony increases, which largely goes unnoticed.
Yet, they do not get a day off, they have to deal with it single-handedly, come what may. When men do not get any holidays for their problems with which they may not be accustomed, why should women get one?
It’s true that men have to cross fewer hurdles than women to get a standing in the society but hurdles do exist for them too. But to fight the patriarchal thinking, women need to put in more efforts, one of which includes tolerating all the pain and suffering in order to keep ourselves moving towards our goal.
A question must be raised that by asking for such exemptions, we prove that we are not at par with men.
So, to get an edge over men, we as aspiring strong women have to sacrifice our comfort and forgo the pain.
Image Sources: Google Images
Sources: Firstpost, Business Standard, BBC, The Guardian
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