"The intent was to get featured on one of those Brut videos,” said Union Minister Smriti Irani on Manoj Jha raising period leave in parliament.
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00:00Why would you ask me a question about providing menstrual hygiene for gay men?
00:03The intent was to be able to provide a solution.
00:06So the intent was to create a headline, possibly get featured in one of those brute videos.
00:18Menstruation and a menstrual cycle is not a handicap.
00:30Where you said that about the menstrual cycle, that whole thing, it was so interesting because
00:43you said, and I'm going to quote, you said menstrual cycles are not a handicap.
00:47And I was like, yeah, yes, because I got into the workforce.
00:52I could have said much more.
00:53You could.
00:54I didn't.
00:56Because the gentleman who asked the question never intended to find a solution for women.
01:01So it was Professor Manoj Kumar Jha.
01:04And he says, will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state.
01:10Can you look at part C of the question?
01:12Yeah.
01:13Whether the policy contains provisions to promote and provide for menstrual hygiene
01:17among LGBTQIA community.
01:21Now tell me the LGBTQIA community that the honourable member wanted a response for, which
01:27gay man without a uterus has a menstrual cycle.
01:32So the question was intended either to shock or to provoke or to attract attention, which
01:37it did attract attention.
01:39It did shock many people.
01:40It did provoke a controversy.
01:43But the question in itself indicates to you what the intent is.
01:46You also said as a woman who's menstruating.
01:48But like I said, if I talk now outside Parliament and I have to reflect on it as a female professional,
01:54the LGBTQIA plus, he wants me, Manoj Jha wants me to provide an answer about how can I provide
02:02for their menstrual hygiene.
02:04For gay men.
02:05Which?
02:06For gay men.
02:07Is it applicable?
02:08What did I say that day?
02:10I said one, it is not an handicapped position that women have.
02:16Somebody said, why did you say handicapped?
02:18I said, you can look up a dictionary of English.
02:21Its second synonym is impediment.
02:24So I used those two words.
02:26I didn't say disability.
02:28Then they said, you don't know that there is pain.
02:31Interestingly, it's all men.
02:33Somebody, in fact, you tweeted about it.
02:35Some gentleman wanted to take out my uterus because I had such a position.
02:38He said, actually, I take umbrage on it for three reasons.
02:42One, the whole movement of feminism was so that women can have their opinion voiced themselves,
02:49no matter what the consequence.
02:51So for somebody to say I'm a feminist man, and because you have an opinion which is different
02:57from mine, your uterus should be taken out is an oxymoron unto itself.
03:01God help his family and those who are working in his organization.
03:04The fact that he can do it with impunity with somebody on a constitutional post means there
03:10is much more that he could possibly do with people around him working with him or within his family.
03:16That itself is a frightening proposition for those women.
03:19But what is the issue at hand?
03:22I have unionized in media as a professional many issues as a writer, as a producer,
03:30as an allied worker for people who work behind the screen.
03:36And our intent for 25 years has been, as members of a union then,
03:42that we don't want to create new challenges for women where they get harassed.
03:46Yeah.
03:47Or for that matter, where they are getting discriminated against.
03:50So imagine when a parliamentarian tells me that mandate a national policy,
03:56and I tell them that I am not that minister, he is the health minister.
04:00But when you say that mandate leave across all segments, what does it do?
04:08For you to mandate and make it lawfully implemented, people have to report implementation.
04:16Yeah.
04:17Now imagine a scenario in a private sector, where if somebody has to implement it,
04:23your HR guy has to know, your accounts guy has to know.
04:27Why should a woman's menstrual cycle be known to an employer?
04:31Imagine if it's a single woman who chooses not to take those leaves that are so-called proposed to be granted.
04:42Can you imagine the harassment that woman will have to face?
04:45Yeah.
04:46Third…
04:47Especially on the work floor, right?
04:49Can you imagine?
04:50We are seeing more and more women have to come and join the workforce,
04:53especially on factory floors, corporate houses.
04:56Imagine a floor with 20,000 women.
04:59Yeah.
05:00So we are creating new barriers for discrimination.
05:04What this gentleman, when he asked me the question, never told anybody,
05:08in fact, what never came out in any critique,
05:11was that under the occupational safety and health standards rules of 2020,
05:16medical leave is already provided for.
05:20Yeah.
05:21What nobody spoke about is that if you forget Indian institutions,
05:26if you look at research which is coming from, let's say, a Mayo Clinic,
05:32what do they say? 80 to 85% women face it in their life cycle.
05:36Yeah.
05:37If it persists beyond the age of 25, you need a checkup, you need a pap check, you need a pelvic examination.
05:43Which is a medical issue then.
05:44It's a medical issue.
05:46It is shocking that it's less in married women, more in young girls.
05:51Yeah.
05:52So the issue is you are creating newer layers for women to be humiliated.
05:56You are creating new layers for discrimination.
05:59You are creating more reasons for them to say,
06:02earlier we used to deny them because they are getting married,
06:05then they are being denied because they are having babies.
06:07Now you are giving them a monthly reason to deny them equal opportunity.
06:11So when I spoke in Parliament, I spoke from my personal experience
06:14because I don't want more and more women harassed.
06:17But the question is, is it not provided for in the law?
06:21It is a part of law already.
06:23It is only under the context of medical leave, which is true
06:27because if you look at the challenge with regards to severe pain,
06:31that is an indication of a hormone or chemical imbalance or a genetic inclination to it,
06:36which means you need a doctor immediately, you can't self-medicate.
06:40What I am shocked at is the number of men who had an opinion about an experience
06:45as a working professional that I had had.
06:48I was very clear on the floor of the house, this is my personal experience.
06:51Most of them fancy the headline.
06:53They don't fancy the content that provides a solution.
06:57Even the gentleman who asked the question,
06:59why would you ask me a question about providing menstrual hygiene for gay men?
07:02The intent was never to provide a solution or to start a conversation.
07:09He is asking me in part one of his supplementary
07:13about the plastic composition of manufacturing of sanitary pads.
07:18You would presume, and this is records available,
07:22that Mr. Jha knows that I am not manufacturing pads.
07:29So the intent was to create a headline,
07:31possibly get featured in one of those brute videos.
07:35Which happened?
07:36Which happened?
07:39And it's easier to do when the person who is responding is as blunt as I am.