Now, Malayalam news channel Mathrubhumi TV announces 'menstrual leave' for women staff

Kochi : The Mathrubhumi Group, a media conglomerate, on Wednesday announced an extra monthly leave to its women staff on the first day of their menstruation period after a similar leave policy was announced by Culture Machine, a Mumbai-based media company.

Currently, the provision has only been implemented in Mathrubhumi News, a TV channel headquartered in Kerala, which has 75 women on its staff. It will soon be extended to its other divisions, which include the online and print verticals.

Announcing the policy, M.V. Shreyams Kumar, Joint Managing Director, said that in a country where menstruation is considered a women's issue, never to be discussed with men, they felt the need to provide their women workers with a supportive working environment and considerate policies.

The bold step has been taken in consideration of the long hectic working hours women reporters have to put in while in the field, he said. Culture Machine recently became one of the first companies in India to give a "First Day of Period Leave" to its women employees.

The firm has also started an online petition asking the Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi and Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar to implement the policy across the country.

"First day is obviously a not-so-comfortable day for most. It's time we face the reality. This is not an embarrassment. This is part of life," said Devleena Sanyal Majumder, President, Human Resource Department, Culture Machine, in a video released by the firm.