Multiple women in a sugarcane producing district (in Maharashtra’s Beed) agreed upon getting their uterus removed last year. They underwent hysterectomy for just one reason — they did not want to bleed.This woul…

Multiple women in a sugarcane producing district (in Maharashtra’s Beed) agreed upon getting their uterus removed last year. They underwent hysterectomy for just one reason — they did not want to bleed.This would allow them to work comfortably for long hours on a sugarcane plantation without any bodily disruption or pain.A 2023 survey conducted by the NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) revealed that about 12 per cent of the surveyed girls didn’t know the exact cause of periods, some calling it a “curse from God”. Tamil Nadu increases maternity leave period to one year for women govt employees having 3rd child Amidst this scenario, a woman employee in Gurugram wrote to her male manager: “I won’t be able to come to the office today due to severe menstrual pain, cramps and discomfort.”Her CEO, Jasveer Singh, who leads knot.dating, a matrimonial platform, took a screenshot of the email and posted it on his X platform.He said that an email like this would have been rare a decade ago.A woman talking about periods at work could still make a headline, another user questioned.Gen Z has killed a lot of unnecessary workplace awkwardness. They’re direct and straightforward about almost anything.10 years ago, an email openly saying ‘severe menstrual pain’ would have been rare. pic.twitter.com/QFzWSX4GSZ— Jasveer Singh (@jasveer10) August 12, 2026

‘Pms-ing’ men: Is it a real thing or a science fiction?Saying the wordFor years, women have played around the bush with the concept of menstruation.While some chose not to bring it up at all, others wrapped it around professionally comfortable words like ‘feeling unwell’ or informally ‘that time of the month’ or ‘women’s problem.’Talking about periods has been a taboo subject in the country, with some women finding it difficult to even talk about it to their family.In a corporate setting, talking about the menstrual cycle can empower women employees to some extent, however, in other circumstances make them look fragile and incompetent, experts said.Speaking to DH, Dr Suman Singh, a senior gynecologist at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Bannerghatta IVF Centre said: “A lot of women worry that if they mention period pain, it might make them look less committed, less capable, or more like they’re unreliable at work. So instead of saying what’s going on, they might just say they are ‘unwell’, without really going into the details.”The Supreme Court had refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on mandatory period leave this year, saying it could do more harm to women than good, with no one giving them huge responsibilities or making them feel less reliable than others.It also carries a risk of intruding into the private medical history of the women employees if companies were to track a woman’s menstrual cycle, some reports suggested.But one can talk about itNormalising conversations around menstruation is not the same as formalising a leave, experts said, adding that the former must be done with or without a designated leave.A 2022 UN survey had stated that about 71 per cent of adolescent girls in India remain unaware about periods until they get their first one.Hence, India has been erratic in its attempts to raise awareness around the natural process.As per health experts, not talking about it can increase public health risk of not being able to distinguish between normal and abnormal periods.Saying exactly what happenedA user on LinkedIn who reposted the story of the Gurugram CEO and employee said that for a moment she thought to herself that the employee could have just ended the message by telling she was not well. She pondered on the email and reflected what pushed her to give the real reason, was it courage or comfort?Unlike so many other women, the employee had not tried to soften her symptoms to sound professional, she noted.“Some women might smooth out how they describe period pain because they want to keep this professional image rolling, and not get judged just because they are menstruating. Phrases like ‘I’m feeling unwell’, or ‘I need to take a sick day’ can end up sounding way easier than saying plainly that intense menstrual symptoms are the real reason they can’t show up,” said Dr Suman Singh.Things are changingIncreased body awareness, use of social media and generational shift are a few factors destigmatising period talk.As per BBC, a special emoticon represented as ‘blood droplet’ was launched in 2019 to remove shame around periods in textual conversations.No two people have same typeWhen one describes an infectious illness to someone, it becomes imperative to be more specific, with most people saying exactly what it is, a flu or a bacterial disease or a simple cold sickness with fever.Likewise, there can be some pathology associated with abnormal periods, with health experts saying these health conditions can make them feel worse.Periods can differ from person to person in terms of duration, cycle length, blood flow, mood changes, pain severity, occurrence of cramps and other bodily changes.“Conditions such as endometriosis (where tissue from the uterus starts to grow outside it), adenomyosis (non cancerous growth), or fibroids (scar like growth) can sometimes cause severe pain and heavy bleeding, and they usually need a proper medical review, not a casual “push through it”, said Dr Singh.As per experts, these women may need medical intervention and adequate rest to manage their symptoms.Not pinned to GenZIn his tweet on X, CEO Jasveer Singh wrote that Gen Z has killed much of workplace awkwardness. He also said that they are direct and straightforward about almost everything and such an email would have been rare a decade ago.However, some feel that Gen Z alone cannot be pinned for this social progress.Women across different age groups have been handling period pain for years, and they have pushed for menstrual health to be taken more seriously in workplaces, healthcare, and just everyday life, experts said.“The movement is not entirely new. It has been a long journey to this point. Older generations of women initiated it, this generation is polishing it further. What differs is the confidence that pushes this generation to phrase it without feeling the need to cut it short, put it behind a metaphor or edit it to make it professionally suitable. What has been lost for good in this situation is the awkward pause,” said Dr Singh.

Source: Deccan Herald