Imagine you have an accident and your leg is crushed by a truck. You now have an amputated leg, trauma and unbearable pain, and your office expects you to return at work on Monday. Wouldn’t it be unfair? Almost inhumane? Women go through something very similar during the birth. Your body grows on another person for nine months and pushes out a baby (or gets a caesarean section). They bear irreversible changes in their physical health, their mental health and family life. In order to maintain the whole, you are now responsible for a newborn that needs surveillance and care around the clock.
So if a working woman is pregnant and applied for maternity leave, would you deny it? A government school in Tamil Nadu deed, and the state government supported it.
The two-child standard policy of the state of Tamil Nadu
In a recently published case, K. Umadevi against government of Tamil Nadu (2025) applied for an English teacher for maternity leave when she was pregnant in 2021. For the context, Tamil Nadu has a two-child standard policy for population control measures. The fundamental rules of the state 101 (a) says that “maternity leave for married servants with fewer than two surviving children is permitted.
Source: Fii
The petition school teacher already had two children from her previous marriage, but her ex-husband had custody of these children. After her divorce, she joined the state school as a teacher and married again in 2018. Her maternity leave request was for the firstborn with her second husband. The higher secondary school refused your vacation request and quoted her third pregnancy as the reason.
On May 23, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that maternity leave was a fundamental right according to articles and 42 of the constitution. It is not a “advantage” and denies that it violates women’s dignity.
Unsatisfied with the request rejection, she brought the case in front of the Supreme Court of Madras, where a one-judge bank decided in its favor in 2021, and the school was asked to issue its maternity leave of one year. According to Section 5 of the Maternity Use Act, 1961Women are entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave for up to two surviving children and 12 weeks of vacation for women with two or more children. Judge V. Parthiban referred to this section and interpreted that she was entitled to this vacation because her two children were not in her care and she did not use maternity leave for her births.
However, the government of the state of Tamil Nadu questioned the decision of the individual judge in front of a department bank, as this was against the two-child standard State Policy. The bank described the decision by Justiz Parthiban and expressed that “maternity leave is not a fundamental right, but an advantage”.
Decision of the Supreme Court
The school teacher, frustrated with the actions of the state, brought this case to the Supreme Court. On May 23, 2025 the Supreme Court decided The Maternity vacation is a fundamental right in accordance with Article 21 and 42 of the constitution. It is not a “advantage” and denies that it violates women’s dignity.
In addition, India is called a signatories of the global pact Cedar, Ensuring equity and maternity rights. Based on Cedaw, the court emphasized that maternity benefits are of crucial importance according to international human rights law for the law of a woman on equality, health, dignity, non -discrimination and privacy. With regard to the two-child standard policy of the state of Tamil Nadu, the court recognized its intentions of population control, but found that politics disregarded the right to health of women.
Source: Fii
“The aim of having a two-child standard as part of measures to control population growth in the country, and the goal of offering the employees of women, including maternity leave, as in the present case, the judgment does not rule out each other.
The influence of pregnancy
Maternity vacation is not a vacation for women. Pregnancy means hormonal shifts, fatigue, physical pain and much more. The romance of pregnancy often shifts the focus of their fights. Birth and postpartum restoration Have a huge physical and mental tribute to the mother.
Maternity advantages go beyond the simple maternity leave in accordance with the 1961 maternity use law.
Birth cracks, stitches, obstetric interventions and bleeding are part of the great biological process of birth. The postpartum restoration lasts weeks, sometimes even months, depending on the severity. The 26 weeks of maternity leave are not a luxury, they are a survival for mothers.
According to the WHO, the postpartum depression (PPD) was in the previous one Indian mothers At 22% in 2022. Post -traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in connection with birth is another episode that bears a stigma but is very real. A 2022, which reports, describes the prevalence of PPD and its effects on Mothers -like health.
So if a mother is not paid Maternity leaveFinancial burdens can affect your health and harm the baby directly.
The implementation of the law
Maternity advantages go beyond the simple maternity leave in accordance with the 1961 maternity use law. If not, the nursing breaks and crèche are a must in the office.
In addition, a paid maternity vacation duration in India can be claimed for up to 26 weeks, which is higher than that International standard of 18 weeks. The 100% wage claim is also better than the right to a partial wage compared to some countries.
According to the data on the periodic work survey (PLFS) for 2022-23, the implementation of these advantages hardly reaches most women. The justification for the use of the advantages does not lead directly to the receipt. For example, these advantages only apply to companies with 10 or more employees, which is a disadvantage for over 85% of women that work in smaller organizations.
Source: Fii
The law also requires that the woman worked for at least 80 days for at least 80 days one year before her delivery date. This becomes a problem for women who work contractually or recently connected to a new place of work. Even worse if an unemployed married woman is looking for a job, she is less likely to be hired due to her budget responsibility and the possibility of pregnancy.
According to the PLFS 2022-23, only 39.9% of the working female population can access maternity advantages, since they are especially applied to regular payment positions or occasional wages.
The numbers also decrease with a change in the professional categories. Experts for women in the management are more entitled to promote maternity. In comparison, service providers in sales, fishing and qualified agriculture are much less likely.
Intersectional perspective
Class, caste, marital status and jobrolle create different obstacles for women. Women from marginalized communities In informal jobs, it may not even know that maternity leave is an option. Lack of education, legal assistance or resources creates a large gap in the request of these advantages.
The case of Umadevi contains another gap in the system: family structure. For example, adoptive mothers only get 12 weeks of vacation, while mothers who have their third or subsequent child do not get the full 26 weeks of vacation, only 12.
Maternity vacation in peace is not enough because care is not just the job of a woman. Studies show that babies are faster learners when their fathers are active parents. However, you have only justified paternity vacation in India for 15 days
Does a woman recover faster with her third or fourth pregnancy? Obviously not. All pregnancies form the same health risks. Then why the reduced vacation time? When it comes to same -sex couples, there is no determination or a clear law that determines any kind of advantages when expecting a child.
Where is the fatherhood?
Maternity vacation in peace is not enough because care is not just the job of a woman. Studies show that babies are faster learners when they are theirs Fathers are active parents. However, you only have 15 days of claim paid paternity vacation in India. The global managers recognize the importance of paternity vacation and offer better advantages to fathers.
Before that, the joint family systems in India made a child much more manageable. “It takes a village to raise a child,” translated earlier that the extended family is present.
Source: Fii
Now that people move to cities 1 and 2 to achieve better opportunities and lifestyles, more families become nuclear units. With just 15 days of paternity vacation, responsibility is fully on the mother while recovering the child. This only increases the gender gap for care.
Fortunately, Corporate India takes responsibility. Zomato offers paid Parental leave for men and women alikewhile HUL offers three weeks of paternity vacation.
When rights are really the same
The status of the Supreme Court in Umadevi’s case is clear: maternity leave is a right, no favor. Articles 21 and 42 emphasize that a woman’s dignity and honor are respected if her rights are honored. This decision was not a groundbreaking judgment; It was a necessity that should be common sense. However, it is a start in the direction of a more sensitive India.
There are still gaps in the system, so that these advantages are not accessible to a large population group. We need laws that every woman see, regardless of her economic and marital status, your birth number, your caste or class. We need paternity vacation to share the charge of the children’s survey. In addition, we need society to really understand that motherhood is important.
Forgot textbooks, Mrudavi was enthusiastic about her childhood obsession with fiction novels. Now she tells committed stories that deal with real topics with a touch of her experiences. If the writing beetle takes a break, Mrudavi can be rolled up with a good book or with her favorite people and cheer on their imagination with endless cups.
