Call for menstrual leave policy in Kenya
Sanitary pads. Kenya lacks an menstrual leave policy for employees.
What you need to know:
- In 2022, a Nigerian tech company, Klasha, adopted a menstrual leave policy, which allows its employees on menses to spend up to five days off work, annually.
- In the same year, Nuvento, a global software company with offices in Kansas and New Jersey, USA, announced one-day menstrual leave, each month.
- A year earlier, Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, had introduced a similar policy with the 12-days annual leave.
The number of companies across the globe introducing policies allowing women to take time off work during menstruation is increasing. However, Kenya lags behind.
Mr Shadrack Wambui, an advocate of the High Court, told Nation.Africa that the time is ripe for Kenyan legislators to establish a menstrual law, with express provisions on related leave.
"It is nonsensical that condoms are dispensed in the office toilets, yet we shun away from the biological process,” he said on Monday in a phone interview.
He said by providing menstrual leave, companies will be ensuring its female workers enjoy a an environment conducive to work.
In 2022, a Nigerian tech company, Klasha, adopted a menstrual leave policy, which allows its employees on menses to spend up to five days off work, annually.
In the same year, Nuvento, a global software company with offices in Kansas and New Jersey in the United States, announced one-day menstrual leave, each month.
A year earlier, Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, had introduced a similar policy with the 12-days annual leave.
Similarly, Australia's Modibodi, a period underwear company, embraced the workplace gender-responsive strategy in 2021 but offers two days less than Unilever.
In 2020, an Indian food delivery company Zomato announced its new policy of 10 days of annual menstrual leave.
Recently, Spain passed a law on paid menstrual leave, allowing women up to three days off work every month. The period can also be extended to five days for women who experience severe cramps, nausea, dizziness and vomiting.
In Africa, only Zambia has a 12-day menstrual leave. Every month, a woman on menses has the liberty to stay off work.
The period policy is, however, more common in Asia where five countries, namely Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and China, have adopted it.
However, women avoid taking advantage of this policy for fear of being branded weak by their male colleagues.
In Japan, for instance, women interviewed by a Guardian correspondent said they avoided the leave because it was unpaid and attracted social stigma. Furthermore, it was a taboo; employees never talked about menses openly.
