[Watch] Odisha Woman Wins Praises For Advocating ‘Paid Period Leave’ At UN Conference

Bhubaneswar: A young woman from Odisha, Ranjeeta Priyadarshini, recently stirred global attention by advocating paid period leave for women employees at the United Nations Civil Society Conference (UNCSC) 2024 in Nairobi.

Her plea for menstrual equity garnered overwhelming support from delegates worldwide.

Ranjeeta, who describes herself as an engineer-turned-lawyer and social worker, underscored the necessity of providing support to women during menstruation and the importance of implementing paid monthly period leave to create a healthier and more inclusive working environment.

“I am working for ‘Paid Period Leave’ for all women employees. I request everyone here to support ‘Paid Period Leave’ for women employees. If ‘period leave’ is implemented, women employees will get support during their menstruation while on duty. It’s a request that if you support the issue, it will help many women employees all over the world,” she said, representing the Fularani Foundation from Odisha.

Ranjeeta, who hails from Bhadrak, through her online campaign (https://paidperiodleave.com/aim/) has been urging the Union Labour Ministry for one day of paid leave in a month arguing that 99 per cent of women encounter maximum pain for 24 hours. Her demand is based on Article 15 (3) and Article 42 of the Indian Constitution which mentions the state shall create special provisions for women to provide just and humane conditions for work.

The tagline of her campaign is, “We are equal, not identical”.