Recently, Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited announced 12 days of paid menstrual leave for women each year. The response was quite positive. Many people praised the initiative. As they should.

Still, I must say, this should have happened a long time ago.

In Bangladesh, menstruation is still taboo. People avoid talking about it. Even talking about women and their everyday issues is uncomfortable for many. This has been the reality for as long as we can remember. As a woman, I can somewhat understand where this stems from; mostly from religious, social and patriarchal mindset. And we, women, have learned to live with it.

But what I have never understood is why it takes so much effort to accept women as human beings. We have bodies; Bodies can have physical conditions. We have minds and hearts; We can feel emotional and mental stress.

This is normal. Just like menstruation is also normal.

Every woman goes through it. Yet, in Bangladeshi workplaces, it is treated as something that does not exist. But if we can accept maternity leave, paternity leave, casual leave than menstruation leave should not require any special permission or debate as it is just as normal.

According to an article published by The Daily Star on 4 October 2024, Bangladesh has no clear law on menstrual leave. The Labour Act of 2006 does not mention menstruation at all which means menstrual health is ignored in our legal system. To show you how far behind we still are as a nation, let me tell you how other countries have done better. Indonesia introduced a menstrual leave policy in 1948. Yes, more than 70 years ago. Compared to this Bangladesh is decades behind.

For those who have never experienced it, especially men, let me give to some context as to why it is so important.

Many women suffer from severe period pain. This is a medically recognized condition called Dysmenorrhoea. Working while period cramps is extremely difficult and for working married women it is even harder as they have to juggle between work and household. Some doctors compare this pain to the pain of a heart attack. Yet women are expected to work as usual, in silence.

This is the reason why menstrual leave should be normalised. Because it is not about comfort or weakness, it is about recognizing reality.

Berger Paints Bangladesh deserves credit for taking this step. Their decision shows care, understanding and great initiative but more importantly, it sets an example. We can only hope that others will follow and that this leads to an actual change. Nowadays we are speaking of progress, modern workplace and better Bangladesh. With all these new ideas and adaptations, women’s health issues should no longer be ignored.

If one organisation can do this, others can too.