Women suffering from secondary dysmenorrhea will have two days of paid leave per month from work, if the Parliament accepts the initiative of an independent MP Jevrosime Pejović.
She announced that she would submit this initiative today, on Women's Day, explaining that there are women in our society who, due to secondary dysmenorrhea, often receive painkiller injections every month before going to work.
"The initiative to introduce menstrual leave implies that these women would be entitled to two days of paid leave per month. In other words, only women who suffer from painful menstruation caused by organic reasons such as endometriosis, uterine polyps, myomas, narrowing of the cervix and its malformations or adhesions in the small pelvis, foreign bodies in the uterus and the like, because we must systematically provide every person with dignified working conditions," Pejović told "Vijesti".
None of her colleagues from other parliamentary groups contacted by "Vijesti" responded to the question of whether they would support this or a similar initiative.
Better prevention of cervical cancer
Pejović says that this initiative, in addition to restoring dignity to women, would contribute to better prevention of diseases such as cervical cancer because it would require them to provide proof of a condition that entitles them to menstrual leave once a year, no later than December 31st.
"This means ensuring regular gynecological examinations. According to the devastating data of the Clinical Center of Montenegro, in 2023, in 61 percent of cases, cervical cancer was detected at an inoperable stage of the disease. This indicates that in most cases the disease is diagnosed when it is advanced, when treatment becomes difficult and uncertain, which reduces the chances of cure and puts us at the very top of the European scale in terms of mortality from a disease that is easily curable when detected in time at an early stage. These disturbing data show how inefficient our screening system is and how important it is to motivate women to go for regular gynecological examinations," says Pejović.
Menstrual absence in the 1970s in Mojkovac
MP Pejović points out that one of the arguments that could be heard against her initiative concerns the possible abuse of menstrual leave, which makes her extremely angry.
"It's literally the same as if you were to solve the problem of shoplifting not by catching the thief, but by closing the store. There are inspections, there are people in the system who we pay to carry out inspections, there are mechanisms for employers to request verification, and I encourage everyone to use these mechanisms to prevent any kind of abuse. It's simply absurd that in a state governed by the rule of law and with laws, you would use this as an argument to deny women's right to adequate healthcare," Pejović emphasizes.
She believes that the conflicting public reactions show "both how much women's reproductive health is a taboo topic in our society and how much internalized misogyny there is."
"While researching this topic, I came across information that in the 1970s, in certain companies, such as the Mojkovac combine, women had the right to menstrual leave, and that best shows how much we have regressed in terms of women's rights in this area," says Pejović.
Arguments that contradict common sense
Pejović says that it is a devastating argument, which goes against common sense, that granting the right to menstrual leave to women suffering from secondary dysmenorrhea would be discriminatory against menopausal women.
"Behind this extremely dangerous argument stands internalized misogyny, the same one that stands behind the narrative that if our grandmothers or great-grandmothers suffered inhumane living conditions, we can endure at least half as much. I am sure that no woman who, due to painful menstruation, went to the emergency room before work to receive an injection, wants their daughter, niece, granddaughter to go through the same thing... So imagine where we would be today as women if our ancestors had not dreamed and fought for us to have the right to vote, the opportunity to give birth in hospitals and live in better conditions," claims Pejović. She explains that women in menopause and women suffering from secondary dysmenorrhea are not legally in the same situation and that they must be treated in their own specific ways.
"The task of decision-makers is to improve living conditions and ensure a better and safer society for generations to come. In the run-up to March 8, it is important that we reflect on these topics and raise awareness of the dangers of such misogynistic narratives, for the sake of future generations for whom we want to create a better world and a more just society," concludes Pejović.
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