Periods can be painful and messy, and it’s a public health issue no one really talks about. According to a 2012 study, 96 per cent of the female workforce (it’s 91 for males) is employed in the informal sector, where staying home due to menstrual pain usually means losing a day’s wages or, worse, getting replaced. So it did seem like a step in the right direction when a Mumbai-based digital media company last year announced that all female employees can be on paid leave on the first day of their period every month. But ensuring that the first-day off is also extended to the overwhelming majority of women is more difficult than ensuring minimum wages are paid, which too isn’t often the case.