A Zambian law that entitles women to take one day off work a month when they have their period is stirring increasingly fierce debate in a country reluctant to discuss sexual health, AFP reports.
The law passed in 2015, allows working women not to provide a sick note or even to explain their absence to their employers, when they take the off on the day politely dubbed ‘mothers day’.
Speaking to AFP, 36-year-old Shupe Luchembe, a civil servant in the capital Lusaka and a mother of three said “It helps me to manage my physiological needs (and) I think it’s very important that I always endorse it.”
But not all Zambians agree with it.
Some feel the day off is widely abused while others claim it affects women’s productivity.
Despite the criticisms, the Zambian government says it stands by the law.
Many Zambian women are proud of this progressive law, in a country where anything related to sexuality is considered taboo.
Schoolgirls in rural areas have also started receiving free sanitary pads to reduce absenteeism.
