From Japan to Zambia, the push for paid menstrual leave
On World Menstrual Hygiene Day, here's a tour of countries in the world that have given women time off work to recover

Many women have painful periods, but only a handful of countries, largely in Asia and most recently Spain, have moved to give them time off work to recover.Here is a tour of some of them ahead of World Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28.
The draft legislation has to be approved by parliament, where the government is in a minority, before coming into force.
The proposal comes amid a campaign by feminists worldwide to demolish taboos around periods, but it has drawn criticism from Spanish unions, who warn that, far from liberating women, menstrual leave could prompt employers to prioritise men when hiring.
But the provision is in practice discretionary.
Many employers allow only one day a month, while others give no menstrual leave at all, either because they are unaware of the law or choose to disregard it.
An International Labour Organization report from 2003 warned that the requirement to give women 24 days menstrual leave on top of their 12 days of annual leave represented a "significant cost" for many employers, causing them to discriminate against women in their hiring policy.
It does not, however, require them to pay women during menstrual leave, but around 30 percent of Japanese companies offer full or partial pay, according to a 2020 labour ministry survey.
Not many women take advantage of the law, however. The survey of around 6,000 companies found that just 0.9 percent of eligible workers had taken menstrual leave.
The leave used to be paid until 2004, when South Korea went from a six-day to a five-day work week.
A 2018 survey showed greater take-up than in Japan, with a little over 19 percent of women taking time off. But many said they choose not to, because of conservative or unfavourable work environments.
Women can only take one day in any given month.
Like sick leave, workers on menstrual leave receive only 50 percent of their salary.
While the measure is generally accepted and supported, not all employers willingly comply with the law on what is discreetly referred to as "Mother"s Day".
But, encouraged by trade unions, women are starting to exercise their right,
communications expert and women"s rights advocate Ruth Kanyanga Kamwi told AFP.
They include the Victorian Women"s Trust, an Australian gender equality agency, which offers employees 12 days of menstrual and menopause leave Indian food delivery startup Zomato, which offers 10 days of period leave and French cooperative La Collective, which gives staff up to one day of period leave per month.
© Agence France-Presse
First Published: May 28, 2022, 08:40
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