Documentary film ‘Paid Period Leave — A Right, Not a Favor’ by Odia man Pradeep Nayak screened at the UNCC
The film exposes the challenges working women face during menstruation and positions paid period leave as a matter of global human rights, not workplace privilege.
Bhubaneswar: Brining laurels to the State of Odisha Pradeep Kumar Nayak has made it to the UNCC lately as his documentary film ‘‘Paid Period Leave — A Right, Not a Favor’ was screened at the United Nations Church Centre.
The United Nations Church Centre hosted the 4th International Conference on Paid Period Leave recently. At its opening, the delegates witnessed the premiere of ‘Paid Period Leave — A Right, Not a Favor’, the first-ever documentary on the subject to be screened at the UNCC.
The film is directed and produced by Pradeep Kumar Nayak, an alumnus of the Biju Patanik Institute of Film Technology, Cuttack. He is a renowned cinematographer who is well known in Ollywood and the Odisha TV industry as he has many successful films and TV shows to his credit. He has made this film along with producers Ranjan Kumar Dash, Jagamohan Tripathy, Ansuman Nayak, and creative director Ashish Kumar Nayak.
The film exposes the challenges working women face during menstruation and positions paid period leave as a matter of global human rights, not workplace privilege.
Renowned humanitarian Vikas Khanna and U.S. actor-author Renee Knorr formally launched the film, drawing attention to the urgent need for policy reform across industries and nations.
Organizer Ranjeeta Priyadarshini, founder of the ‘Paid Period Leave’ initiative, addressed international delegates, urging both the UNCC and world governments to recognize menstrual health as a fundamental right of workers.
The conference reflected growing international momentum: 74 companies across India, Sri Lanka, Dubai, and Kenya have already adopted paid period leave, while Thailand became the first country to endorse the Global Memorandum on Menstrual Equity.
As discussions concluded, one message echoed across the assembly — that menstrual health and dignity can no longer remain sidelined. With UNCC attention now on the issue, advocates say the movement for paid period leave is gaining unprecedented global legitimacy.
