In a landmark ruling passed on October 9, the Karnataka State Cabinet approved the Menstrual Leave Policy, which allows working women one paid leave per month during their period. While Bihar, Kerala, and Odisha offer variations of this provision, they are largely restricted to government employees or university students. The southern state is the first to extend this policy to women across government offices and private sector establishments, including but not limited to the many garment factories and IT companies dotted along its breadth. About time, right?
In a country where roughly 500 million women fall in the reproductive age group, the stigma around periods continues to wreak havoc. Countless homes and public spaces follow regressive rules where women aren’t allowed to enter religious realms or kitchens while bleeding. At the same time, healthcare brands continue to innovate on new solutions—cutesy patches, pills, pads—that women can slap on to suppress cramps, fatigue, and fevers only to keep up with the productivity cycle. The show must go on and whatnot, even if that means stuffing your body with murky additives that bring a host of side effects, just as long as you can clock in your eight hours at work.
With this painful history as the backdrop, the period leave law—which is yet to be notified IRL—brings an undeniable sliver of hope. “I am very happy this policy is being introduced, because in my previous company [a multinational consultancy] they didn’t allow us any leaves for period pain. We just had to take painkillers and get to work,” shares Bengaluru-based banker Hafsa. The 25-year-old often suffers from cramps and body pain and was forced to dip into her sick leaves when her periods came around. The new ruling brings a sigh of relief as it allows 12 additional days of leave for women annually.
While the bill has been successfully passed, it very much feels like the first step in a much larger, nationwide conversation. The government has to illustrate how the law will come into action, how it will be notified in private versus public sectors, how companies will be held accountable, and crucially, how female employees who opt for period leaves will be protected from external pressure or coercion.
After all, decades of stigma and deep-rooted gender bias cannot be swish-swashed away with one wishful policy, and some employees are rightfully wary of dipping into these too-good-to-be-true prescribed leaves.
“I’m a health analyst and there are very few women in my sector because the industry believes we can’t keep up with the arbitrary hours,” says Mysore-based Mahima, 36. “Personally, this law feels like a trap to see which women are ‘weak’ and will fall for it; I’m not going to be one of them.”
Harsh as it may seem, Mahima’s thoughts are echoed by other (often millennial) employees across Reddit threads, who believe this provision may give companies another reason not to hire women. Blame it on the 2010s girl-boss era where the grind was not just romanticised but rewarded, but many people believe the apathy is unshakeable. “No one is looking out for you. It’s cute to post about these leaves on Instagram, but it won’t help you get ahead,” says Trishna, 41, an investor relations manager. “I have acute PCOS and my periods often last for 45 days. How would I explain this to my 60-year-old male boss?”
Before you dismiss their anxiety as pessimism, it’s crucial to see the real-world numbers it is rooted in: India stands at a shameful number 131 out of 148 countries on the Global Gender Gap Report for 2025, while studies show women in blue- and grey-collar jobs earn roughly 70 per cent of what men with similar titles take home. In reality, for period leaves to go beyond tokenistic DEI initiatives that pad companies’ woke scores, the law needs to be fleshed out and thoughtfully personalised for different workplaces, starting with the process of applying for these offs. “A simple and private system,” suggests Arpana, a 43-year-old lawyer from Bengaluru. “We should be able to apply for period leave through the usual company portal without needing to share extra details so it is comfortable for women across [senior and junior] titles to use.”
Additionally, against what conventional media would have us believe, the length and severity of period cycles look vastly different for each woman. To some extent, the Karnataka ruling accounts for this disparity by allowing employees to spread out their leaves over a year or take 12 days at once when needed. But the holidays aren’t linear, and for upper management to understand why one female employee may need the week off during her period while another can work extra hours without batting an eye, comprehensive women’s health seminars should be integrated into workplaces.
Just as companies fill out plagiarism or health and safety modules, period and menopause care should be gender- and age-agnostic requirements to equip team leaders with empathy and information and help employees feel safe in accessing the law. “Awareness is vital to address any stigma around periods,” says financial analyst Nikkita, 27. “It’s important for senior leadership to extend support to women in junior roles and manage any discontent that may arise when we take period leaves. This is the only way women across ages and titles will be able to sustainably avail the policy.”
