Chennai: Unable to bear her menstrual cramps, 24-year-old Shirene S. would skip office for two days each month, which irked her boss to no end. He accused her of not taking her work seriously and threatened to let her go if she did not heed to the company’s rule which allowed a trainee not more than one day’s sick leave a month. That was the last time she took leave for the same reason, choosing to be present at work, however writhing in pain.
Such is the case with women working in corporate houses. Activists and employees feel the need for working conditions to be made more conducive for women especially with regard to their medical needs and hygiene.
“Educating employees and heads of offices and institutions on the need for ensuring care and the well being of women in their work places is essentially the need of the hour. Most offices still have no facilities of a sanitary napkin dispenser which is important in times of emergency,” said activist Shanta G.
“Our toilets are not cleaned on a regular basis. Many a times we have had to use a toilet that had blood stains from the previous day,” said Shayan .B. from Kottupuram.
Though researches in other countries have proved that menstrual pain in some cases can be as bad as a heart attack, it has been found that the topic is not open for discussion in places of work in Tamil Nadu.
“Why would I want to have a discussion on periods? I feel very uncomfortable when my female friends sit next to me at that time of the month,” said an intern Mathew P.
“Women themselves should initiate the conversation. I am raising a son who knows how challenging this part of a woman’s life is,” said author and artist Reema Moudgil.
Most women who approach gynaecologists with terrible cramps go alone or with female friends. They say their husbands or fathers do not want to be involved in ‘female problems’,” said a health official.
A survey by UN’s sanitation agency recently, found almost a third of girls were unaware of periods and over 70 per cent women accepted they were impure at the time. Women also stress on the need for medical aid to be provided at work places as they may not be prepared with medicines to combat the pain.
