KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 ― Women in Spain suffering from period pain while at work will get three days of menstrual leave, the first Western country to have such perks.
The matter is set to be approved by the Spanish government as early as next week, Daily Mail reported quoting Cadena Ser radio station.
Once approved, Spain joins Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Zambia to have such leaves.
Under the package, schools are also required to provide sanitary pads for girls who need them.
The Secretary of State for Equality and against Gender Violence, Ángela Rodríguez had on March 3 announced measures to guarantee menstrual health and recovery of reproductive health, including giving leave to women who have an abortion.
“The rights related to menstrual health have never been discussed and the data is chilling,” Rodríguez reportedly told El Periodico.
“One in four women cannot choose the feminine hygiene products she wants to buy for financial reasons. That is why we propose that they can be dispensed free of charge in educational and social centres.”
The time off is intended to benefit women who suffer from particularly painful periods.
Many women who menstruate suffer from severe pain known as dysmenorrhea, which can be debilitating in severe cases.
“It is important to clarify what a painful period is, we are not talking about a slight discomfort, but about serious symptoms such as diarrhoea, severe headaches, fever,” Rodríguez said.
“Symptoms that when there is a disease that entails them, a temporary disability is granted, therefore the same should happen with menstruation and that there is the possibility that if a woman has a very painful period, she can stay home.”
Sanitary pads and tampons will have its value added tax removed from their sale price in supermarkets ― as well as being provided free of charge to women in marginalised social circumstances.
The Spanish government also plans to remove the requirement for 16 and 17-year-olds seeking an abortion to ask parental permission.
