One-day menstrual leave for working women in public, private sectors – Odisha becomes third state to roll out policy

eputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida made the announcement during Independence Day celebrations at Cuttack. It will become the third state to bring in such a policy.

Women in technology face persistent barriers that targeted skilling initiatives can address. While rural smartphone penetration is high, the gender gap remains stark: Only 20 per cent of girls own smartphones compared to 44 per cent of boys.

The Odisha government Thursday announced one-day menstrual leave for the working women in both private and government sectors — a decision widely hailed by rights activists and women employees.

Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida made the announcement during Independence Day celebrations at Cuttack. “Earlier menstrual leave was not allowed. Now, it would be optional for the working women to avail leave on the first or second day of the menstrual cycle. It will be applied for both the government and private sector employees,” Parida told reporters after attending the celebration.

The women and child development department of the state government would soon come up with detailed guidelines to extend the menstrual leave to the working women, official sources said.

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Odisha is the third state after Kerala and Bihar to bring in a menstrual leave policy for working women amid a nationwide demand for such a paid leave for students and working women.

The new BJP government’s decision came a month after the Supreme Court on July 8 asked the Centre to consult all stakeholders on the demand for such a policy for working women. Officials said the announcement helped the new BJP government to uphold the image of a “progressive government”.

Of over four lakh employees of the state government, around 1.5 lakh are women. Even though there was no official data in this regard, over five lakh women are estimated to be working in the private sector.

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