A PIL has been moved in the High Court of Delhi seeking direction to Union of India & others to grant paid leaves every month to all class of women employees including daily wage, contractual & outsourced worker & during the menstruation period.
The petition was listed before the bench of Chief Justice DN Patel & Justice Prateek Jalan today, which didn't assemble due to some reason.
Thereafter the matter was adjourned for Nov 23.
The petitioner/Delhi Labour Union also sought directions to the respondents to provide special casual leave/ paid leave as well as to ensure separate & clean toilet facilities, periodic rests & free sanitary napkins to women employees during their menstruation period.
Lawyer Rajiv Aggarwal, representing the petitioner also says that female employees form a significant part of the workforce in the offices & establishments of the Centre & the Delhi Govt.
The petition said that at present, many employees are employed with the different sectors & performing various roles including that of officer, employee & worker. These employees perform all kinds of works including that of administrative, managerial, supervisory, skilled, unskilled, manual, operational, clerical & technical nature. These employees are employed through different modes of employment such as regular/ employees, ad hoc, deputation, daily wage muster roll workers, contractual workers & workers employed through independent contractors/ outsourcing agencies.
It said that menstruating employees form a separate class owing to their biological necessities & differences with other employees, adding that "the Respondents treat these employees in the same manner with male employees in the matter of paid leaves. Such practice of the Respondents is discriminatory & violative of the Right to Equality & equal protection of laws guaranteed by the Constitution to these workers".
It also added that article 15(3) of the Constitution enables the respondents to make special provisions for women.
It added, "Still, the respondents have not made any special provisions for these employees. Menstruation is intrinsically related to human dignity. By not providing separate toilet facilities, separate breaks to maintain hygiene during menstruation, & paid leaves in form of special casual leaves; the Respondents are depriving the employees of their human dignity".
In the plea, it is mentioned that a significant number of these employees menstruate & there is very little consideration or even recognition for the emotional, physical, hormonal & physiological trauma that these employees undergo during their menstrual cycle.
Besides facing actual psychological trauma because of sudden hormonal fluctuation, the release of a large amount of extremely inflammatory lipids called prostaglandins constrict the blood vessels in the uterus & make the muscle layer contract, causing painful cramps. Some of the prostaglandins enter the bloodstream, causing headache, nausea, vomiting, & diarrhoea. The pain is so extreme in some cases that it causes fainting & dizziness spells. That their monthly menstrual cycle is additionally painful for women who suffer from reproductive ailments such as adenomyosis, endometriosis or fibroids, the petition said.
A normal menstrual period lasts from four to 6 days.
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