On January 19, the higher education department of Kerala issued an order granting menstrual leave to students in all higher education institutions. The department was replicating a model created by the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT).
On January 11, CUSAT became the first university in the country to grant menstrual leave to students. Namita George, the chairperson of the CUSAT students' union, played a crucial role in the implementation of this progressive move in the state.
A student activist from the Students Federation of India, the union under the leadership of George came to power at CUSAT less than a month ago. And, the union’s first petition to the university was to allow menstrual leave in the university. “I never expected to be a part of the union and become the chairperson. But this was something I wished to do first if I ever got a chance,” said George, who is currently a fifth-year law student at the School of Legal Studies, CUSAT. “Beyond politics, this petition and the issue of menstrual leave was something very personal and emotional for me and many of my friends.”
The union raised the request for menstrual leave to the university on January 3. And, within a week, the university took clear action on it. “We did not expect such a speedy and positive response from the university,” said George. “And, now, this is being replicated in the entire state. We did not expect that our petition would prompt such sudden action. We are thrilled. CUSAT authorities were very supportive when we gave the petition. Our registrar is also a woman. So, there was no trouble in making her understand the troubles faced by a woman during her menstrual days. The pro-vice chancellor also welcomed our petition.”
The original request raised by George and her union was for granting two days off every month for students and staff. The university authorities explained the practical difficulty of implementing such a norm. Instead, the authorities agreed that girls students can claim an additional condonation of two per cent attendance each semester. This means, women students now require only 73 per cent attendance to appear for semester exams without any penalty.
George, who hails from Palakkad, decided to study law when she was 16. She hopes to become a lawyer who advocates causes for not just women, but people of all gender and sexual orientation. “I do not have any shame in openly admitting that I used to be a homophobic person earlier,” she said. “I had an ignorant phase, I thought homosexuality is a sin. But I had to undergo unlearning and relearning to understand what homosexuality is, and who transgenders are. Today I strongly advocate for transgender rights, too. Coming to feminism, though I was into the idea for a long time, I started thinking more about the rights of women only now.”
George hopes to see more gender sensitivity awareness sessions at schools. “We feed a lot of misconceptions to our children. And such misconceptions lead us into becoming judgmental of people,” she said. “For instance, there are many who think that being transgender or homosexual is a disease and that it can be ‘corrected’ by counselling. Such ideas influenced me also earlier.” She also cited a short film, K-nowledge, written and directed by Mollywood actor Grace Antony, that gave insights about the kind of misconceptions fed to the minds of children, about periods.
George also points out that a lot of men are still ignorant about menstruation or menstrual pain experienced by women. “A lot of men commented on [CUSAT’s plan to give period leave], mocked it. But they do not understand what is happening to women during periods,” she said.
George, and her union, are mulling an action plan to deal with ignorance on menstruation. “We are in talks with multiple NGOs to start sessions on period hygiene and period awareness,” she said.
“And, these will not be sessions exclusively for women but is open for all. I remember in our schools, girls were given exclusive classes about periods. They were advised not to talk to boys about the session. It does not make sense. Everybody should learn about it together,” she added.
