Bengaluru: Working mothers had a busy week. First, they had to fight against Mira Rajput’s comments and now they are fighting their ‘tears of joy’. Don’t get me wrong, the khushi ke aansu isn’t the victory tears after a befitting reply to Mira Rajput. It is a real reason to rejoice. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2017, increases maternity leave from present 12 weeks to 26 weeks. The Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya believes that the bill will increase the working women force because the participation of women is decreasing day by day.

The law protects the employment of women during the time of maternity and entitles them to a full paid absence from work to take care of the child. The amendment bill will increase maternity leave period to 26 weeks in all establishments, including private sector.

This is applicable to all establishments employing 10 or more persons. ” I strongly back what our Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said. This bill will indeed fight malnutrition by encouraging breastfeeding. And it is common knowledge that a woman’s body needs to heal after delivery. For most mothers, it is difficult to get back within 12 weeks. They all extend the period to 6 months anyways. Now it is easier for mothers, they don’t have to coax the management,” says Savitha Venkat, IT professional in HP.

Dr Hirak Das, a General Practitioner also applauds this move. He says, “No child will die of hunger at a tender age, if mothers are encouraged to breastfeed. Breast feeding also increases immunity.” Adding to the same line of thought, Meenakshi Kumar, an independent Architect and a soon to-be-mother says, “Abroad, In UK, they have 9 months of paid leave. It is very thoughtful of India to do so. It is a great encouragement. And it will be beneficial for both, mother and child. WHO is stressing on breast feeding, the proximity becomes important in such cases. And this will fight a lot of issues,stemming from distance between mother and child. Wish it had kept the unorganised sector, the freelancers in loop as well. What happens to the crores of mothers who are working to make ends meet?”