China's Guangdong province has proposed a regulation, asking employers to give a fully-paid day off to their female employees who suffer from painful menstruation. According to the regulation, female employees need to show a doctor's note, valid¹ within six months, proving that they are incapable² of working under intense pain during their periods. For now, the Guangdong government is soliciting³ public opinion on its website until December 3.

广东省法制办公布《广东省实施〈女职工劳动保护特别规定〉办法（送审稿）》，并在省法制办官网征求公众意见，截至今年12月3日，“送审稿”提出，如果女职工如果因重度痛经而不能工作的，用人单位应允许其带薪休假1天，该证明半年有效。

Back in 1993, the central government implemented⁴ a similar regulation in health services for female employees to have a day or two off if they suffer from painful menstruation.

1993年颁布的《女职工保健工作规定》规定，患有重度痛经及月经过多的女职工，经医疗或妇幼保健机构确诊后，月经期间可适当给予1至2天的休假。

Although most Chinese netizens support the regulation, some worry that this could lead to other problems.

消息一出，大多市民表示支持，但是痛经假虽好，网友们普遍担心其难以实施。

A sample of comments on Weibo:

微博观点：

I am a man, but I absolutely support this rule because my wife is a woman.

俺是男生，但老婆是女的啊，所以，我支持！

I want it so much, especially today! I am in so much pain right now, but nobody seems to care!

今天就在痛中，求立刻给假！

Can this be implemented in universities too? It is hard when you have to deal with your period and exams at the same time!

求推广到大学，一边痛一边考试，难过的不要不要的！

Of course I support the rule, but it indeed would put more pressure on companies and organizations. Maybe the government can do something about that, like reducing tax or giving more subsidies⁵.

好想法但是企业要承担损失啊，要不政府给减免点税收？