A rule of ‘female victories’; ‘Feminist conquests’ bill proposes paid menstrual leave

Spain has approved a plan that, if enacted into law, would provide paid medical leave to women who experience discomfort during their menstrual cycles. The first European capital, Madrid, has advanced this law. The measure makes no mention of how long doctors will be permitted to offer women who are having painful periods sick time. Additionally, this law calls for the expansion of sex education in classrooms and the free provision of contraception and menstrual hygiene supplies in high schools.

The legislation’s most important provision is ‘menstrual leave’. Increased access to abortion in public hospitals is among the proposed law’s noteworthy additional elements. Additionally, it has a provision that permits 16- and 17-year-old children to get abortions without parental consent. With 190 votes in favour, 154 against, and 4 abstentions, Spanish legislators in the lower house of parliament approved the bill. After this, the Senate will consider the bill.

Spain to join the group of countries with paid menstrual leave;
If the proposed legislation is approved by the senate as well, Spain would become the first nation in Europe and one of the few in the world to offer women with painful periods paid leave. Japan, Indonesia, and Zambia are among the few other nations with legislation of a similar nature.

A rule of ‘female victories’!
Irene Montero, a member of the left-leaning Podemos party and the minister of equality for Spain, declared before the Congress of Deputies, ‘This legislative is a legislature of feminist triumphs’.  She said, ‘We battle stigma and silence and recognise menstruation health as a component of the right to health’.

What do the detractors have to say?
One of Spain’s two major unions, the UGT, expressed worry that companies that wanted to prevent menstrual leave-based absences may not recruit women at all, according to EuroNews. Despite France and French philosophers dominating the global feminist debate, Spain is one of the nations seen as a benchmark for women’s rights. More women than males serve in the current Sanchez administration.