Moroccan lawmakers suggest legalising paid menstrual leave from work

In a first among Middle Eastern and North African states, a Moroccan parliamentary group has suggested guaranteeing a paid time-off for people who menstruate.

In a recommendation to the Parliament, the independent parlimentary group named the Social Liberty called for allowing people facing difficulties during their menstruation period to take two days off each month with no need to submit a medical certificate.

Drafted by MPs Mustafa Al-Dahmani, Saeed Shaker and Mustafa Bin Faqih, the three lawmakers said the health difficulties that "women face during the menstruation are obstacles to professional equality and the advancement of women's position in the administration."

"We need to take into account these difficulties in managing the professional obligations of women and encouraging them to enter administrative positions and assume job responsibilities," added the lawmakers in a written recommendation to the Parliament.

The three lawmakers were members of the Islamist Party of Justice and Development (PJD) before getting into a disagreement with the leadership of the party last year. Since then, they established their independent group in parliament as "Social Liberty."

The recommendation still needs to be discussed and approved by the Moroccan government. 

If legalised, Morocco will become the first country in the MENA region to codify such a law.

Worldwide, menstrual leave is currently offered only in a small number of countries including Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and Zambia.

Earlier this year, the Spanish government greenlighted the plan of paid "menstrual leave" in the workplace, if approved in parliament, would mark a European first.

Spain's proposal has already sparked an intense debate over whether it could help or hinder women at work.

Throughout the years, menstrual leave became a controversial policy. It was mainly attacked by men, labelling it as a "reverse sexism".

Some women's rights defenders have been also sceptical of this policy, fearing its effects on women's access to job opportunities.

Gender-based discrimination is already a bitter truth in the workplace around the world.

Women are on average 30 per cent less likely to be called for a job interview than men with the same characteristics, and the percentage increase for women with children, according to researchers at Barcelona's University of Pompeu Fabra.

The debate around period leave in Morocco is almost nonexistent, as Moroccan women still fight their way toward equality in inheritance, the end of monogamy and better custody rights.