The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to file its response on what action has been taken regarding menstrual leave for women employees working in government, public sector and private establishments.
The direction came while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Narmatha of Madurai. The petition said many women employees experience pain during menstruation but continue working without disclosing it, and argued that Tamil Nadu does not have a paid menstrual leave policy.
The petitioner pointed out that menstrual leave is in practice in states such as Karnataka, Kerala, Bihar and Odisha, and contended that treating it as a “privilege” is incorrect, describing it instead as a public health and labour welfare measure. She sought an interim direction to constitute a state-level high-level committee to study feasibility and to frame a policy granting full-pay menstrual leave.
A division bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel heard the matter. The government informed the court that a committee has been formed to frame rules and include them in labour court rules, and sought time to file a counter.
The bench directed the state to file, by August 24, details of the steps taken on the relief sought and particulars of the members of the committee constituted by the government.
