This Mumbai firm grants fully-paid 'period leave' to women

A small Mumbai company called Shree Lakshmi Steel Industries has been granting fully-paid 'period leave' to its women employees since 2010. According to several media reports, the reason is both medical and religious.

Currently, there is only one woman employee working in this company which is situated in South Mumbai. But in the past six years, at least six women employees were granted fully-paid 'menstrual leave'.

Uttam Jain, Owner of the company said he had thought of this year ago when he had started managing the company's affairs though in the conservative Indian environment it was even taboo for women to talk about their menstrual cycles and the discomfort they undergo during those excruciating five days.

Jain who was fully supported by his family offered this privilege to the women employees as and when they worked with him.

"Recently, I heard of a British company Coexist in Bristol offering `menstrual leave` which made global headlines... I never knew this was such a big deal as my women staffers have been enjoying this since 2010," Jain told IANS on Friday.

While he gives his women employees the option to work from home if the situation demands, it is not compulsory, nor is it treated as a sick leave or any other kind of absence from work.

Jain said that in his own Jain community, Brahmins and generally the Hindu communities, women are taught from their early teenaged days not to discuss the issue in front of boys or men, including from their families.