UP WOMEN TEACHERS ASSN DEMANDS ‘PERIOD LEAVE’

PRAYAGRAJ: Amid all the talks over ‘menstruation leave’ for working women, the Uttar Pradesh women teachers have now demanded that they too be allowed to avail three days ‘Period Leave’ or ‘Menstrual Leave’ every month over and above other leaves available to them akin to the facility that their counterparts in states like Bihar can avail when in need.

They stressed that menstruating women experience pain and bleeding, both of which affect their mental and physical state.

A delegation of women teachers under the banner of Uttar Pradesh Women Teachers’ Association has submitted this demand to Anamika Chaudhary, a member of UP Women’s Commission on Sunday in Sangam city and now plan to approach deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Senior vice-president of the association’s district unit Poonam Gupta said that the Bihar government was extending this leave to women employees for the past 30 years.

“We want UP government to also extend three days ‘period leave’ per month for women teachers and employees,” said Poonam, who was part of the delegation that met Anamika Chaudhary and also had organisational secretary Durgawati Mishra and Indu Sharma along with district president Vithica Amarnath and general secretary Aparna Bajpai in it.

“Anamika Chaudhary has promised to make the UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath aware of our demand,” she said.

UP Women Teachers’ Association’s Prayagraj unit president Vithica Amarnath said that their state president Sulochana Maurya had also submitted a memorandum in this regard to UP cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya in Lucknow.

“All units are submitting similar memorandums to elected MLAS and ministers in their respective districts,” she added.