Male’, Maldives – A bill proposing an amendment to provide paid menstrual leaves for women has been submitted to the Parliament on Sunday.
The bill was put forward by L. Fonadhoo MP Moosa Siraj, who also represents the ruling party. According to the amendment suggested by Siraj, women should be granted a paid leave of one day each month, due to menstruation, apart from the allocated sick leaves. It also read that a woman requesting this leave shall not be required to provide any document in order to be able to claim it.
In addition, the amendment also says that should a woman decide to forgo this leave, she shall be entitled to a full day’s basic salary, in addition to the monthly salary to be received for the month.
Siraj explained his stance and defended his proposal to the parliament, saying that the aim of this bill is to accept the hardship women endure with menstruation. He also added that providing women with paid leaves for menstruation is common practice in many developed parts of the world and that it is something to be normalized in our communities as well.
