In this country, employers tell women when they can get pregnant!

Women get schedules detailing when they can conceive. Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

Women across India breathed a sigh of relief when the Parliament passed the bill extending maternity leaves upto six months. Because let's be honest, it's not easy handling work and a newborn simultaneously. Now, getting pregnant is your choice. It's upto you to decide when you want to start a family. But, imagine this: one fine day your company sends around a circular that tells you when you can get pregnant. A schedule of sorts. Sounds absurd, doesn't it? Well, this is exactly what is happening in Japan right now.

Believe it or not, Japan is curbing women's rights like no other. They are making a roster when their women employees can get married and pregnant. This issue came to light when a nursery worker's husband revealed that his wife was being bullied by her employer because she got knocked up out of turn.

''The director at the child care center where she [the wife] works had determined the order in which workers could get married or pregnant, and apparently there was an unspoken rule that one must not take their 'turn' before a senior staff member,'' the husband was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.

To make matters worse, if a woman gets pregnant out of turn, she is deemed 'selfish' and 'unprofessional' by her employer. "My wife and I went together to apologise. 'We're sorry we got pregnant,' we said. The director grudgingly accepted our apology, but since the next day, has been chiding my wife with harsh words, such as, 'How could you so selfishly break the rules?" added the husband.

According to a report published in India Today, in a separate incident, a 26-year-old woman, working at a cosmetics company in Mitaka, Tokyo, revealed that she and 22 other female colleagues were reportedly sent an email, mapping out marriage and pregnancy schedules.

Her employer even insisted that she should get pregnant after the age of 35, despite her telling them that she had fertility issues. Needless to say, such stringent rules will only impact the work ratio in Japan. If women are not allowed to get pregnant when they want, it would surely discourage them for pursing a career.