SA’s Lack of Menstrual Leave Policy Violates Women’s Rights – UKZN Researcher, Social Influencer

Masters graduate’s research spotlights women’s right to menstrual leave – and lack thereof in South Africa. But what is menstrual leave, who does it impact, how does it work, and what are its implications?

By Clarize Maschaka
Additional reporting by Thandile Nkoyi

South Africa’s lax stance on menstrual leave violates women’s rights to equality, sexual and reproductive health, a safe and healthy working environment, and economic participation argues researchers and social media influencers.

A new study calling for new laws to ensure menstrual leave, health and equality in the workplace has received welcome support from online content creators like Xoli Gcabashe.

Gcabashe who has followings on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube partnered with Viya Health South Africa to make menstrual and sexual health and hygiene content directed at young South African women and girls. Viya Health is a digital space for women who want on-the-go, easy access to quality information and services customized to their sexual health.

Around 1,8 billion people menstruate each month across the world. That includes women, young girls, transgender men, and nonbinary people.

However, there is a concerning discrepancy in how menstrual hygiene needs are attended (and this varies by country), which leaves millions of women and girls in unideal hygienic situations.

In her research, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) MA graduate Annalise Thulapersad called for new laws to ensure menstrual health and equality in workplaces and schools.

A research report carried out in several schools across South Africa by
I_Menstruate Movement, an organization founded by Tracy Malawana, revealed that out of the 550 surveyed girl learners, 83% do not have regular access to menstrual hygiene products at school and home, and one in four learners misses school monthly because of a lack of access to menstrual hygiene products and support during their menstrual periods.

Xoli’s case for menstrual leave

Xoli has used her social media channels to emphasize the physical, mental, and emotional toll of menstruation, advocating for menstrual leave as a necessary step towards gender equality and improved quality of life for menstruating individuals.

Xoli used to work in a hotel, where she was the only woman in her team of males.

She would work for really long hours: “We would typically perform manual labour for around six to eight hours, and since I was the only woman on the team, it was even more challenging when I was on my [menstrual] cycle.” It would be particularly challenging because of the pain and discomfort associated with periods.

She continues: “It was occasionally impossible for me to ignore the nausea, and push through because my period would make me physically ill and give me cramps”. Her colleagues “would become irrationally irritated” when she had to miss work on some days because of the pain.

For her, a bit of understanding could go a long way, which can be achieved by encouraging “greater knowledge, inclusivity, and support for menstrual health by emphasizing the psychological, emotional, and social effects of menstruation”.

Is menstrual leave a solution?

Given the above symptoms and their effects on productivity, as well as anecdotal accounts like Xoli’s, it seems therefore taking some time off during your period can increase your productivity and efficiency.

Thulapersad plans to focus her further research on this subject.
Her study noted an “absence of a provision for menstrual leave in South Africa’s labour law framework”.

In her MA thesis entitled “A Critical Inquiry into the Recognition of the Right to Menstrual Leave in South Africa” , she asks some pertinent questions related to the implementation and practicality of such a policy.

These relate to the criteria for qualification for leave, allocation of days, whether it should be paid or not, and possible penalties for non-compliance.

Thulapersad aims to build pressure on the relevant bodies: “I devised a slate of recommendations for South Africa and relevant stakeholders such as employers, trade unions and civil society to build the kind of pressure required to enact appropriate policy reform in reference to the provision of menstrual leave, including strategic litigation”.

And perhaps, if such a policy could ever come to fruition, it could benefit school girls as well. But such efforts would have to go hand-in-hand with continual education on menstruation, for both parents and adolescents.

The idea of menstrual leave, despite advocacy from people like Thulapersad, is not without pushback, however. Reporting for IOL, Goitsemang Matlhabe identified several comments online from users who felt such a move would do women more harm than good in the workplace.

One posted that while she does “get horrible period pains…this menstrual leave nonsense [would] just make it harder for women to get employment”.

Another comment read: “But this menstrual leave story is taking us 30 steps back. Can you imagine someone not being able to go and seal a killer financial transaction or deal because they are on menstrual leave? And we now have to ask a man to step in ai,”.

But for Thulapersad, “South Africa’s failure to enact a provision for menstrual leave constitutes a violation of women’s rights to equality, sexual and reproductive health, a safe and healthy working environment, and economic participation”.

She plans to address this by pursuing a human rights career in which she can ensure “the constitutional rights of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups are promoted and fulfilled”.

I Menstruate Movement, one of the organizations that raise awareness about period poverty through movement building, awareness raising, education, advocacy, and direct service can be reached at http://imenstruate.org/.

More information about Viya Health is available on their socials: https://www.instagram.com/viyahealthza/
https://www.facebook.com/viyahealthza/

This article was originally published by Khulani!, a youth media project by the Department of Media and
Communication of Nelson Mandela University, based in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.