Three-day menstrual leave offered first to women in Europe

Women suffering from severe menstrual pain will be allowed to take up to three days off each month under a reform plan to be approved by the Spanish government next week.

The reform project unveiled by Cadena Ser will make Spain the first Western country to offer the right to menstrual leave, according to which women will be guaranteed menstrual leave.

Currently, only a few Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, as well as Zambia, provide menstrual leave.

According to the Spanish Gynecological and Obstetric Society, about a third of women who menstruate suffer from severe pain known as dysmenorrhea, an increase that includes premenstrual pain. Symptoms of dysmenorrhea include acute abdominal pain, headache, diarrhea, and fever.

“If someone has a disease with such symptoms, temporary disability is provided, so the same should happen with menstruation – allowing a woman with a very painful period to stay at home,” said Angela Rodriguez, Secretary of State for Equality. El Periodico newspaper.

Schools to provide sanitary napkins

The reform, due to be adopted at a cabinet meeting next Tuesday, includes other measures to improve menstrual health, such as requiring schools to provide sanitary napkins for girls who need them.

Bandages and tampons will also be provided free of charge to women in marginalized social conditions and VAT will be removed from their sales price in supermarkets – a long-standing demand from women in Spain.

In the same package of reforms, Spain’s left-wing government plans to make abortion more widely available by removing the parental permission requirement for 16- and 17-year-olds and ensuring access to breaks in public hospitals.

Currently, entire regions of the country are areas prohibited for abortion due to denial policies, according to which doctors may refuse to practice abortion for ethical reasons.

Abortion, available on request up to 14 weeks after pregnancy, remains a divisive issue in Spain with a majority of Catholics. The country’s parliament recently criminalized harassment or intimidation of women to prevent their right to abortion in response to frequent protests in front of abortion clinics.