Prominent women leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) have criticized the United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s proposal to grant up to three days of menstrual leave per month to school girls.
The state government mooted the idea during the governor’s policy speech in the Kerala Assembly last week.
BJP councilor and former DGP R Sreelekha, in a social media post on Saturday, raised concerns over whether the proposal, aimed at helping girl schoolgirls, would end up violating their privacy.
“If girls stay away from the classroom every month, family members, schools and others may know when a particular girl has her period. Is this the dignity of menstruation?” she asked in a Facebook post.
The Sasthamangalam councilor said she has never missed classes or even required physical parades to the police because of her menstrual cycle.
The former Director General recommended that, instead of menstrual leave, girls should be provided with clean toilets in schools, sanitary pad vending machines, and access to pain-relieving medications.
Norbeena Rashid, a senior leader of IUML, said girls’ privacy should not be affected in the name of menstrual leave.
“When girls take advantage of such menstrual leaves, it may make them mentally despondent. Therefore, officials must ensure that the privacy of girls is not affected by such policies,” she said.
Public Education Minister N Shamsuddin said the leave is optional in nature and aims to help girls during these physically difficult times. He added, “The government will take into account all opinions before implementing this policy.”
