Painful periods? Spain just passed Europe’s first paid ‘menstrual leave’ law

Spain has just passed a law allowing those with especially painful periods to take paid "menstrual leave" from work, in a European first.

The bill approved by Parliament on Thursday is part of a broader package on sexual and reproductive rights that includes allowing anyone 16 and over to get an abortion or freely change the gender on their ID card.

The law gives the right to a three-day “menstrual” leave of absence - with the possibility of extending it to five days - for those with disabling periods, which can cause severe cramps, nausea, dizziness and even vomiting.

The leave requires a doctor's note, and the public social security system will foot the bill.

The law states that the new policy will help combat the stereotypes and myths that still surround periods and hinder women's lives.

Equality Minister Irene Montero, an outspoken feminist in the leftwing government, hailed "a historic day of progress for feminist rights".

“There will be resistance to its application, just as there has been and there will be resistance to the application of all feminist laws,” she told parliament.

“So we have to work (…) to guarantee that when this law enters into force, it will be enforced".

"The days of (women) going to work in pain are over," Montero said last year when she unveiled her government’s proposal.

But the road to Spain’s menstrual leave has been rocky. Politicians - including those within the ruling coalition - and trade unions have been divided over the policy, which some fear could backfire and stigmatise women in the workplace.

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

Italy flirted with the idea in 2016, proposing a bill