Please give menstrual leave to high school students April 4 at 5:15

"Give me menstrual leave"

is not about the workplace. Now, such voices are beginning to be raised in schools.

I want it to reach people who think, "Only girls are cunning" or "Is it necessary for school?"

This is an appeal from a high school student.
(Osaka Broadcasting Station Reporter Suzuko)

"I have a tummy ache" but I have to go to school...

Sakura Ueda, a third-year student at Hokuyo High School at Kansai University in Osaka.

I am the captain of the volleyball team.

Since I was in junior high school, I have been suffering from severe menstrual cramps.

Sakura Ueda:
"Of course, there were pain, mood ups and downs, irritated and angry, and crying. On the first day of my period, I was usually absent from school."

In junior high school, he was absent from school once a month due to menstrual cramps.

However, after entering high school, I forced myself to go to school.

He said he was worried about the impact of the increased number of absentee days on his college career.

The mother was also sending her daughter away with a hard time going to school.

Sakura's mother
: "When I was in junior high school, I used to let them take a break because it was too bad, but after I got to high school, it became difficult to take time off.

Sakura is currently taking a low-dose pill to relieve her symptoms.

The pain has eased considerably compared to before.

However, he says he has other friends at school who have severe menstrual cramps.

"I want schools to introduce menstrual leave,"

Sakura began to convey her thoughts to those around her.

With a teacher who supports you

Some teachers are understanding.

Teacher Shinichi Mizuta says that he felt that he wanted to "support the students who are questioning themselves and trying to act."

I believe that thinking about these issues from the time they are high school students, including boys, will lead to the growth of students.

With the support of Ms. Mizuta, Sakura visited Konkoku High School in Osaka City, which has already introduced menstrual leave.

This school is the first school in Japan to introduce menstrual leave.

It is said that some students have severe menstrual cramps and take them every month.

In a questionnaire survey conducted after the introduction of the system, some male students said that only girls were given privileges, but understanding of the system was spreading regardless of gender.

"Don't be cunning"

The student council of Sakura's high school decided to compile the opinions of the students.

As the initiator of the activity, Sakura made the following appeal online in March.

Sakura:
"Menstrual leave is not unequal, I want you to think of it as something to eliminate unfairness. Suppose there are three people of different heights. Even if you are given a step platform of the same height to see the view beyond the wall, there is a difference in the view you can see as a result. Being fair means that you are given a step platform of different heights according to your height, and you will be at the same eye level and see the same view."

"Try to apply this to menstrual leave, and if you are treated as absent due to poor health that you can't control on your own, or if you come to school with headaches, stomachaches, and nausea because you can't do it, can you say that everyone sees the same picture?"

In the future, the school will consider menstrual leave based on the proposals presented by the student council.

Sakura:
"If menstrual leave is familiar to us from high school, I think it will affect the awareness of when you become a member of society.

There is menstrual leave, but it is difficult for working people to take it.

Its menstrual leave. Companies are obliged to introduce it under the Labor Standards Law.

However, in practice, it has rarely been used.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, only 2019.0% of women used menstrual leave in fiscal 9.

Experts point out that it is necessary to deepen the knowledge of physiology, including in men.

Professor Eiri Sugita, Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University
: "I think there is negative pressure to take time off because you are a woman. I think it is also necessary to educate men about menstruation. Even if you learn what menstruation is a phenomenon, there is little knowledge about menstrual pain, PMS (premenstrual syndrome = physical and mental disorder before menstruation), or how often you have to change your napkin. I hope that everyone will understand the basics a little more and be able to think about things with their imagination without having to ask them directly, such as 'Something seems to be wrong' or 'Maybe so.'"

How do I change?

In recent years, the movement to make it easier to take menstrual leave has begun to spread among companies.

At Sanwa Construction, a construction company in Osaka City, 7% of the employees are men.

Last year, we conducted a survey of female employees, and more than half of them said that they had been forced to go to work because they could not take menstrual leave.

Yuka Mimura, who is in her fourth year with the company, is one of them.

On days of menstrual cramps, my stomach was so heavy that I couldn't move in the morning.

However, I was reluctant to tell my male boss the word "period."

I was worried
that I might think I was spoiled,
so I forced myself to work without taking menstrual leave.

Yuka Mimura:
"There were times when I couldn't move because of abdominal pain, so commuting to work was especially painful. I think my work efficiency was also poor."

I heard similar voices from many female employees.

The first thing the company did to improve was to change the name of the leave.

We changed from "menstrual leave" to "F leave" for women.

In addition, all employees are informed that they can apply not only by phone but also by e-mail.

The number of menstruations in modern women is 10 times higher than in the past

And training to learn about physiology.

All employees watched a video created by the major manufacturer "Unicharm".

I learned this in the video.

In the past, women experienced about 50 menstruations in their lifetime, but today women have about 500.
▽ 4 in 1 women have
menstrual pain that interferes with their daily life

▽ In addition to menstrual pain, 7% of people have PMS, a problem related to physical and mental health before menstruation. About the same rate as the rate of menstrual pain problems

Male manager (40s):
"Until now, I had few opportunities to learn about menstruation, and I was shocked to learn that many women have various symptoms and spend their time as if nothing is going wrong. You look a little sick, are you okay?' I wondered if I could get involved in a soft way like that."

Peace of mind that "I was knew"

As a result of these initiatives, the number of people who say they have forced themselves to go to work has decreased significantly.

Ms. Mimura also feels that it has become easier to apply for menstrual leave.

Ms.
Mimura: "In the past, I thought that men didn't know anything about menstruation, but I think that having a base of 'being known' has made it easier to take vacations."

Ms
. Maika Cho, in charge of human resources at Sanwa Construction, said, "Although we have a system in place, there have been cases where understanding has not progressed much or it has not been used well, so I hope to create a comfortable working environment for both men and women."

As a result of making it easier for men to take menstrual leave, this company has created a work environment in which men, including those who "do not force themselves to work when they are struggling, but take time off."

Efforts are also being made to make it easier to take paid leave, and the rate of taking leave is increasing.

It seems that deepening understanding of menstruation has led to the creation of a comfortable workplace for everyone, and business performance is also improving.

As "natural" as a cold

I (the reporter) started covering menstrual leave when I took it for the first time last year.

I have never survived without taking medication since I was a student, and there are times when it is hard to do.

However, I was a little reluctant to take time off work due to menstrual cramps.

I wondered if I could take a break,
or if they thought I was skipping,

and I felt a kind of anxiety and guilt.

In a questionnaire survey of the companies we interviewed, many women seemed to perceive menstrual pain as something they endured.

I think they are worried about the eyes of men, and women themselves are conscious.

However, poor physical condition due to menstrual pain is the same as poor physical condition due to cold.

It's not that I want to be. Even efficiency drops.

Just as you rest when you catch a cold, you rest even with menstrual cramps.

I hope that women will be able to make that choice a matter of course.

Osaka Broadcasting Station Reporter
Suzuko Suzuko2020Joined

the Osaka
Prefectural Police for 2 yearsCovering disasters and education