The Dharmashastra National Law University, Jabalpur (DNLU), has recently implemented a policy granting menstrual leaves to its students. This development was announced through an official circular issued on Friday, following a long-standing request from the Student Bar Association (SBA) for such leaves.
Currently, the University permits students to take leave for up to 36 lectures per semester, which amounts to 6 classes for each of the 6 subjects. Under the new policy, full-time female students at DNLU will be able to utilize these leaves to address difficulties experienced during their menstrual cycles.
The circular states, "It is hereby notified that full-time female students of the university can avail the general make-up for the loss of classes occasioned due to menstrual cycle. Rules relating to the general make-up on the extent of the number of days i.e., 6 classes per subject per semester, will remain the same as notified and practiced in the university at present (sic)." Additionally, the circular specifies that the Dean of Student Welfare will be responsible for approving these leaves.
In an interview with Jelsyna Chacko from Bar & Bench, a class representative and SBA member explained, "The main challenge was to make the authorities understand why these leaves are necessary and not discriminatory against male students. Initially, there was some resistance from the authorities since not everyone is very open-minded about menstruation, and in general, people were of the view that it would be discriminatory towards male counterparts. SBA had many conversations with the administration to make them understand why it is necessary to have menstrual leaves."
Kartik Jain, who previously held the position of Vice-President of the SBA (in 2022-23), provided an explanation on the functioning of the policy.
He stated, "The make-up leave policy currently consists of six criteria. Menstrual leave has now been included as one of the reasons for students to avail make-up leave."
Jain further expressed his gratitude towards the administration for accepting the students' request, emphasizing that this initiative was made possible due to the hard work of DNLU students.
"The request was initially presented on January 26th, on the occasion of Republic Day. The students demanded the implementation of this policy, and now, the administration has successfully implemented it. We extend our gratitude to the administration, including the Dean of Student Welfare, for considering our request, as well as the Honorable Vice Chancellor (I/C) for approving it," he added.
This development follows DNLU's recent introduction of audio-visual learning for students, which garnered significant attention as the first National Law University to do so.
Bar & Bench has reached out to the DNLU administration for their statement regarding this pioneering initiative among law schools. If a response is received, this article will be updated accordingly.
In a related context, Indian law firm Khaitan & Co recently announced the introduction of a menstrual leave policy for its female employees, which is scheduled to be implemented from October 1st.
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TAGS: MENSTRUAL LEAVE POLICY MENSTRUAL PAIN LEAVE MENSTRUAL LEAVE DNLU JABALPUR
