MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday granted a week’s time to the state government to respond whether or not it intends to frame a comprehensive paid menstrual leave policy for women employees in government services and also suitable advisory guidelines for those working in private establishments.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by M Narmatha, a government lab technician from Madurai, a bench of justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel urged the government to think about and address the issue in a positive manner and give a response on July 28.
Narmatha stated in her petition that she has come across many working women who come for treatment for severe menstrual cramps but turn up for work, despite immense pain, to perform as good as their male colleagues. Though several other states including Karnataka, Bihar and Odisha have menstrual leave policies, Tamil Nadu does not have one to support women, she noted.
During a hearing in March, the court had sought a response from the government regarding its stand on the issue. Due to the change in government, the court posed the question to the present government.