Chinese Province Grants Women Leave For Menstrual Pain
On Sunday, Anhui province introduced new regulations allowing female workers who suffer severe menstrual pain to take one to two days off every month, after presenting a doctor’s certificate.
Many women endure pain each month from acute menstrual cramps since their teen age.
“I just want to cut that part of my body off completely,” says Shao Jinwen’s, a starbuck employee, whose lower abdomen throbs with a familiar, all-consuming pain.
Research suggests that globally, suffer from menstrual cramps (known medically as dysmenorrhea) so crippling that they could interfere with their daily activities. A quarter of women, on the other hand, are blessed with painless periods.
Countries That Lead the Way:
- Since 1947, women in Japan have been granted menstrual leave
- Since 2001, female workers in South Korea have been entitled to a day off each month
- In 2014, Taiwan amended its legislation to grant female workers up to one day of menstrual leave a month
“Female employers might worry they wouldn’t be hired because of the extra time off. So I’d suggest the regulation not target a specific gender, but women with specific jobs.” Says Li, who has covered issues surrounding female labor extensively as a journalist.
Source: CNN
