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The Spanish government approved a historic law granting paid medical leave to women suffering from severe menstrual pain which is the first for any European country. Women suffer from severe pain during menstruation for four to five days of the month. This pain frequently has an impact on both their professional and personal lives. Because of the pain women experience during their periods, Spain has decided to grant them a period of leave.
What has Europe learned?
These leave facilities are available in a handful of countries including Japan, Indonesia, and Zambia. Equality Minister Irene Montero informed that it is a historic day of progress in feminist rights. In Spain, women now have the option to take their monthly menstrual leave for three to five days if they feel uncomfortable during their periods. On Thursday, Spain passed a number of sexual and reproductive rights laws, including ones over abortion and transgender rights, making it the first nation in Europe to grant workers the right to paid menstruation leave.
Spanish Government Passed Law Providing ‘Menstrual Leave’ First Time in Europe. Equality Minister Irene Montero noted that the move would be a step towards addressing a health problem that has been largely swept under the carpet.
Right from the minister
Equality Minister Irene Montero informed that periods will no longer be taboo. No more going to work in pain, no more taking pills before arriving at work, and having to hide the fact that they are in pain that makes us unable to work.
Montero noted that after the law was initially approved by the cabinet in May 2022. The menstrual leave law was part of a broader mandate that also bolsters access to abortion services in public hospitals.
The new law of the land
The new legislation also allows minors aged 16 and 17 to have an abortion without parental permission, reversing Out of 185 votes cast in the parliament, 154 were in favour of the measure that was approved in Spain. The majority has voted in favour of this measure, the government informed. Nowadays, women are provided time off during their periods in a few nations. Japan, Indonesia and Zambia, among other nations who have given menstrual leaves.
Every force has it’s counterpart
While the legislation passed smoothly under Spain’s left-wing government, it has created divisions among both politicians and unions.
The CCOO, one of Spain’s main trade unions, welcomed the move as a major “legislative advance” to recognize a problem that has been “ignored” until now.
Meanwhile, the country’s other main union warned that it could stigmatise women in the workplace and indirectly hinder their “access to the labour market”. UGT’s stance has also been echoed by the opposition right-wing Popular Party (PP).
