In a historical move, yesterday the National Assembly passed the ‘Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill’ 2020, which has granted mothers the right to take up to six months paid maternity leave from their workplaces at their first birth, as well as leaves for three to four months during the birth of their second and third child as the bill states:
“Maternity leave shall in the prescribed manner be granted on full pay outside the leave account to a female employee on her option to the extent of one hundred and eighty days on first birth, one hundred and twenty days on second birth, ninety days on third birth.”
The bill also granted paternity leave for fathers, allowing men to take one month paid leaves from their work places on the birth of their child:
“A male employee expecting his wife to give birth to a child shall , at his option, be granted paternity leave on full pay not exceeding thirty days.”
The bill has been passed in federal territory, which means it will be made a legal priority for Islamabad workplaces to include paid paternity and maternity leave in their policies. But hopefully, this progressive step will soon encourage other cities to take note and follow to make inclusive policies that do not push women out of the workplace after their marriage.
The bill was presented at the National Assembly by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Quratulain Marri, who praised her colleagues support to prioritise social issues, which helped in making this landmark legislation possible.
Social media users have celebrated the legislation as a progressive step that will stop women from being forced to chose between motherhood and their jobs, and applauded Senator Marri for helping ensure this will happen.
