Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
As a working woman, you have a right to have your #PeriodAtWork story heard. And speaking up is the first step to making a change – let us all be changemakers!
As working women who have a voice, why should we be embarrassed to talk about #PeriodAtWork? We also have a right to voice our stories without any judgement, shaming, or trivialising of anything. At Women’s Web, we provide you that safe space.
Share your personal stories about menstrual and reproductive health (period leave, need for working, hygienic toilets, health issues like dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, PCOD, menopause and related hormonal issues, and many more issues most menstruators face – anything!) and how it affects you in your careers at your workplace.
You can also share your positive experiences – have you been heard, understood, and helped in some way at the workplace about your periods? We’d like to know.
Sharing your experiences of #PeriodAtWork, what you need at this time and how your workplace can support you can actually make a positive difference in long term workplace policies! The first step could be sharing your story.
As a young woman more than 2 decades ago,I worked in the healthcare system, which is essentially a strongly hierarchical system, much like the military. A senior’s word is law.
Doctors and nurses know all about periods, more than anyone else. YET, the experience of periods and all the related problems was something that we struggled to convey to male colleagues and our bosses – even female bosses. We hid our periods, quietly suffered the pain and the many unsavoury “hormonal” jokes, and still showed up at work. It sucked that as working women, we did not get the support we deserved and needed – and this was a work environment that had more women in the medical and paramedical staff! Taking time off for menstruation related problems was not even a viable thing, especially given the work was almost 24/7. I can narrate many, many stories…
Hopefully, this is not the case in hospitals now, but I don’t know, as I left it behind a long time ago, and of course I now work in an inclusive, feminist space that understands my biological needs.
Every working woman certainly has her own version of such stories.
Dr Shalini Mullick speaks about the screeching silence at workplaces about menopause. as does Bhuvana Subramanyan about the appalling stigma menopause has at the workplace as well as home.
Karishma VP writes about the pushback against period leave, mostly by men. Preeti says that there are even some women who somehow feel that asking for period leave is a setback for women’s empowerment.
Natasha Ramarathnam says that normalising talk about #PeriodAtWork and having period leave can lead to long term positive policy changes.
In the meantime, though, availability of clean, hygienic, and working toilets for women at work remains problematic, as Vijeta Harishankar states. It is worse for women working in retail in small shops and for daily wages, who depend mostly on the public toilet system, says Vishwathika in her piece.
As Ishita Roy says, this translates to a systematic lack of opportunities for women – at colleges and workplaces.
As a working woman, you have a right to have your story heard. And speaking up is the first step to making a change – let us all be changemakers.
On our part, we will be sharing the best 10 of the featured stories on social media.
Do you have a #PeriodAtWork story that you’d like to share? You could tell us your story as a personal account, or as a fictionalised version.
Log into your author dashboard and upload it with the hashtag #PeriodAtWork alongside your title. If you aren’t yet an author with Women’s Web, it’s easy to register here.
~ This should be a previously unpublished story.
~ Once published on Women’s Web, you may not publish it in whole elsewhere, except for an excerpt with a link back to us. They will remain exclusive to us.
Send in your stories by Sunday, 10th September, 11.59 PM. The earlier you send your story, the better, as we will begin publishing stories as they come in, all through September.
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and upload your story. We’re looking forward to it.
In her role as the Senior Editor & Community Manager at Women's Web, Sandhya Renukamba is fortunate to associate every day with a whole lot of smart and fabulous writers and readers. A doctor read more...
Women's Web is an open platform that publishes a diversity of views, individual posts do not necessarily represent the platform's views and opinions at all times.
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
Please enter your email address