Odisha announces one day paid menstrual leave for state govt and private sector employees

Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Parvati Parida on Thursday announced that women employed in state government and private sector will get a day’s paid menstrual leave.

Parida, also the Minister of Women and Child Development, made the announcement after an Independence Day programme in Cuttack.

The leave can be taken on the first or second day of the menstrual cycle and will be optional, Parida said.



Odisha is the third state after Kerala and Bihar to implement such a leave. However, it is unlikely that a nation-wide menstrual leave becomes the norm as Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi said on July 26 that there were no such proposals at present.

An Odia woman had spoken up for a paid menstrual leave at the United Nations Civil Conference 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya.


Ranjita Priyadarshini, an activist from Odisha, had also voiced her demand for a paid leave during periods at the international conference.

She argued that women across the world suffer due to physical pain during their menstruation cycle.