Ranjeeta Priyadarshini Takes Global Paid Period Leave Campaign to UNGA 81

NEW YORK— Ranjeeta Priyadarshini, Global Campaigner and Founder of Paid Period Leave and Brand Ambassador of RISE, has carried her campaign for workplace menstrual health to the international stage, participating in the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) and engaging with government representatives and stakeholders from across the world. Her campaign calls for at least one day of paid period leave for women employees, with the broader goal of advancing menstrual health, workplace dignity, and gender equality.

Ranjeeta first raised the issue of Paid Period Leave at a United Nations platform in Nairobi, Kenya, marking the start of an international journey that has since spanned India and now reaches global forums such as UNGA 81. In the years since, she has organized and led five international conferences dedicated to raising awareness of paid period leave and mobilizing support for its implementation, and her work has been recognized and felicitated by a range of organizations along the way.

In India, she has taken the conversation to states including Odisha, Karnataka and Bihar, pressing for the recognition of menstrual health within workplace policy. In Bihar, her advocacy has contributed to the growing adoption of paid period leave provisions for women employees in the private sector, adding momentum to the wider national conversation on menstrual health and employee well-being. Now, through UNGA 81, she is extending that conversation beyond India, approaching governments and policymakers in other countries to encourage dialogue and explore support for workplace policies addressing menstrual health.

A Personal Struggle Turned Global Mission

Ranjeeta's campaign grew out of her own experience of severe menstrual pain and the difficulty of seeking leave at work, a personal struggle that has since developed into an international advocacy movement. Her message remains direct: menstrual health belongs in the conversation on women's rights, workplace equality, occupational well-being and dignity at work.

"Paid Period Leave is not a favour. It is about dignity, equality and ensuring that women do not have to choose between their health and their work."
 — Ranjeeta Priyadarshini

She is now actively seeking the support of governments and national leaders to better understand the issue and move toward implementing paid period leave policies, and continues to challenge the assumption that menstrual-health policies create barriers to women's employment. Instead, she calls for constructive dialogue among governments, employers, workers and policymakers to design appropriate policies within different national legal and economic frameworks.

Ranjeeta's advocacy extends into literature as well. She has authored an international book on women workers, which was launched in the UK Parliament, and her own journey has inspired five books being written about her in Hindi and English. Alongside this, her story is the subject of a documentary chronicling her advocacy journey, which is being screened to raise public awareness about the cause — work she has sustained despite numerous obstacles and limited financial support.

From Kenya to India and now UNGA 81, Ranjeeta Priyadarshini is working to move Paid Period Leave from a subject of social discussion toward a broader international policy conversation.

Global Summit on Paid Period Leave, October 19, New York. Image: RISE.

Ranjeeta Priyadarshini’s advocacy will continue at the Global Summit on Paid Period Leave, scheduled for October 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at UNCC, United Nations Plaza, New York. The Ranjeeta Initiative for Social Empowerment (RISE) presents the summit as a gathering to advance discussion of menstrual health, workplace dignity and gender equality.

About Ranjeeta Priyadarshini 

Ranjeeta Priyadarshini is a social entrepreneur, lawyer, gender-rights advocate, Global Campaigner and Founder of Paid Period Leave, and Brand Ambassador of RISE. Her work focuses on women's rights, menstrual equity, gender equality, workplace dignity and social empowerment.