The Spanish parliament has approved the legal regulation that gives women workers the right to menstrual leave, making it the first European country to give workers leave due to health problems in the menstrual period. By law, employees who want to take menstrual leave must submit a medical report to their workplace to take up to five days off per month.
‘WE ADVANCE YOUR FEMINISM’
Under the law, the requirement for 16 and 17-year-olds to obtain permission from their families for abortion is also abolished, and it is planned to reduce VAT on menstrual period products. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, “We are advancing feminism. Women should be able to decide freely about their lives.”
A MAJOR LEGAL PROGRESS
Unions in Spain also supported the decision. CCOO, one of the country’s largest unions, said the right was a major “legal advance”. South Korea and Indonesia are among the countries that legally allow menstruation leave in the world.