Image Courtesy : www.facebook.com/CMOKerala

On Thursday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that in a first in the country, menstrual and maternity leaves would be given to all women students in all institutes under the State government's Higher Education Department.

Chief minister Vijayan announced this decision on his Twitter handle and Facebook page.

He said such a pro-women action by his government was the first of its type in the entire nation and an expression of the Left government's commitment to ensuring gender justice.

Once again, Kerala forms a model for the country. Menstrual and maternity leaves will be given to female students of all organizations under our Department of Higher Education, reaffirming the LDF government's commitment to learning a gender-just society," the chief minister tweeted.

He said although menstruation was a standard biological process, it produces a lot of mental stress and physical distress in women.

Therefore, the government has chosen to give a two percent relaxation to female students in the attendance condition, he stated in his Facebook post.

He informed that this is the first time in the nation that a State government took such a pro-women decision for female students in academic institutions under the Higher Education department.

He further said that the Higher Education department has also selected to permit a maximum of 60 days of maternity break for female students who have achieved 18 years of age.

Taking a signal from the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in delivering menstrual leave to its students, on Monday, Higher Education Minister R Bindu revealed the government has decided to execute the same in all State universities under the purview of the Higher Education department.

CUSAT had settled on a representation made by the SFI-led students' union of the varsity.

Considering the long-pending need of the students, the university, on January 11, approved an additional two percent condonation of shortage of attendance to female students per semester.

Before that, in December last year, Mahatma Gandhi University decided to give maternity leave of 60 days to degree and PG students of 18 years and above so that they could continue their education without any interruptions.

News Source: NDTV