Nobody Will Give Jobs To Women: SC Refuses Plea Seeking Menstrual Leaves

India

oi-Prakash KL

The Supreme Court on Friday cautioned against introducing a law mandating menstrual leave for women, warning it could harm their employment prospects and reinforce negative stereotypes.

Chief Justice Surya Kant, heading the bench, observed that compulsory menstrual leave could deter employers from hiring women. “Creating awareness and sensitisation is different… but the moment you bring in a law mandating menstrual leave, nobody will hire them,” NDTV quoted him as saying during a hearing on a petition filed by lawyer Shailendra Mani Tripathi.

The petitioner had sought directions to states to frame rules allowing women, including students and professionals, to take leave during menstruation.

The Chief Justice argued that such measures could inadvertently create a perception that women are “less” than men. “They will call women inferior and say menstruation is something ‘bad’ happening to them,” he remarked, stressing that the plea risked instilling fear rather than promoting equality.

Senior Advocate MR Shamshad, appearing in support of the petition, pointed out that Kerala had introduced menstrual leave for women students in state-run universities in 2013. At the time, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the move as part of a commitment to building a gender-just society. Shamshad also noted that several private companies had voluntarily adopted similar policies.

The Chief Justice, however, distinguished between voluntary initiatives and legal mandates. “The moment you say ‘compulsory in law’, nobody will give them jobs. Nobody will take them in judiciary or government jobs… their career is over. They will say ‘you should sit at home’,” he cautioned.

The debate comes against the backdrop of a landmark Supreme Court ruling in January, which recognised menstrual hygiene as an integral part of a girl child’s right to life, dignity, health, and education under Article 21 of the Constitution. In that judgement, Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan directed governments to provide free sanitary napkins, functional gender-segregated toilets, and awareness campaigns on menstrual health.