MALAYSIA does not plant to legislate menstrual leave for now, Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff said today.

“There needs to be more discussion with the Ministries of Finance and Human Resources, unions and other stakeholders as it affects productivity and the economy,” the deputy minister of women, family and community development told parliament today.

She said although the private sector recognises menstrual leave, the government needs more information before it will consider legislation.

“We need to study this and see how period poverty affects the B40 group before deciding.

“A study, involving 57,000 respondents, is being done and will be ready by October.”

As for menstrual leave in the public sector, Siti Zailah said that was up to the Public Service Department and the Human Resources Ministry.

The Rantau Panjang MP was responding to Charles Santiago (Klang-PH), who asked the government whether it plans to introduce menstrual leave and a sanitary pads subsidy as a form of social protection for women in the B40 group. 

Menstrual leave is an employment policy that allows women the option to take paid or unpaid leave from work during menstruation due to associated health issues.

The policy dates back to the Soviet Union in the 1920s, when it was introduced to protect motherhood.

Since then, only a handful of countries have national policy frameworks that grant some form of menstrual leave ranging from a day to an unlimited number of days off, with Asian countries taking the lead. Japan introduced it in 1947, Indonesia in 1948, South Korea in 2001, Taiwan in 2002, and Zambia in 2017. 

In Malaysia, women employees who experience acute menstrual pain must visit a doctor for treatment. It is up to the doctors to decide whether to grant the worker medical leave. – July 20, 2022.