BANGKOK - A leading Thai university has approved “period leave” for students who suffer from conditions linked to their menstrual cycles, a first for the nation’s colleges.

Thammasat University in Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok, will allow students with period pain, headache and fatigue to take leave while studying, without affecting their grades.

The decision was approved by the academic committee last week and makes Thammasat the kingdom’s first educational institution to allow the right to period leave.

“The Academic Department would like to request collaboration from faculties, institutions and colleges to grant students absence due to menstrual period,” said a statement from its student union’s official account on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday.

However, the statement does not mention how long a student may take a leave of absence.

Thammasat University – the kingdom’s second-oldest university and considered one of the most progressive – is well-known locally for its course in politics and law.

A small number of countries around the world have adopted laws allowing menstrual leave, including Japan, Indonesia and Spain.

In several other countries, employers have started offering period leave without being legally obliged to do so. AFP