Thiruvananthapuram: In a pioneering decision, the Kerala government on Monday said it would grant menstrual leave for female students studying in all state universities coming under the Department of Higher Education. Taking a cue from the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) in providing menstrual leave to its students, Higher Education Minister R Bindu said the government has decided to implement the same in all state universities under the purview of the department.
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Taking into consideration the mental and physical difficulties faced by female students during menstruation, necessary steps will be taken to implement menstrual leave in all universities, she said in a Facebook post.
Hailing the decision taken by the Cochin University recently, she said it was for the first time in Kerala that an educational centre has given menstrual leave to students.
Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) had taken the decision following a representation made by the SFI-led students’ union of the university. Considering the long-pending demand of the students, the varsity, on January 11, had sanctioned an additional two per cent condonation of shortage of attendance to female students, in each semester.
She also praised the students’ union for taking up such an initiative and said “the menstrual leave model will be rolled out in universities across state”.
It is most gratifying to see the success of the student leadership and the university leadership working together to create a befitting continuation of the ongoing women empowerment activities initiated by the Department of Higher Education, the minister said.
Bindu added that menstrual periods are days of emotional roller coaster for many.
Let the girls relax during the difficult days of their menstrual cycle, she said.
An autonomous university, CUSAT has over 8,000 students in various streams and more than half of them are girls.
Having considered the requests for menstruation benefits to female students, the Vice-Chancellor has ordered to sanction an additional 2 per cent of condonation of shortage of attendance to female students, in each semester, subject to reporting to the Academic Council, a recent order issued by the joint registrar of CUSAT had said.
The order would be applicable to female students of all streams, including those pursuing PhD, in the university and is expected to be implemented with immediate effect.
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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
