This Capital City Gives Women 2 Days Off for Their Period

It started with a casual lunch conversation between a county governor and his Cabinet ministers about a colleague's menstrual pain. That discussion led to a first in Kenya: the right for female employees to take menstrual leave. The new policy, which took effect in December, grants county government employees in the capital of Nairobi two days off every month to deal with the pain and discomfort of menstruation, with the aim of improving productivity and well-being, reports the AP. Gov. Johnson Sakaja says that Kenya's national government has expressed interest in how it goes, and other county governors have as well.

"Your biggest asset is your staff," says Sakaja, who shepherded the new practice and oversees a government where more than half the 18,000 employees are women. "It starts with dignifying your own staff, for them to feel that they're respected and dignified." There has been little public objection. Critics have said the policy could discourage employers from hiring more women, but Sakaja disagrees, saying he believes that women perform better than men when they're supported. Women currently lead the Nairobi county government's business and health portfolios.

"Women's rights are not anti-productivity," he says. "They are an input that creates productivity. It's actually an investment in your workforce." He notes that there would be no financial impact, as the county has more than one person for each role. "It will not be a train smash if three or four people in a department are not there for a day or two," he says. Other countries have had such allowances on the books for some time: Japan adopted a menstrual leave policy way back in 1947. The latest was Spain, in 2023. Other countries include Indonesia and South Korea. In Africa, only Zambia has nationwide menstrual leave policy, allowing female workers to take one day per month without having to provide a note from a health care provider.

Eunice Cheserem, a Nairobi-based gynecologist, says that severe menstrual pain is common in 50% of the women she sees at her clinic. "If a woman gets severe menstrual pain, she actually ceases to be functional," she notes. "Some will get vomiting, severe headaches ... they have diarrhea, they have very terrible cramps. Some respond to conventional analgesics, but very many need very, very strong analgesics for them even to be able to function." While some are saying the policy has already made a difference, others fear another possible repercussion. "People will prefer to employ more men because they don't have these sick leaves," one private-sector staffer predicts. More here.