A writ petition has been filed in the High Court demanding policy guidelines for paternity leave in all institutions for employed fathers.
The petition was filed on Wednesday by six-month-old Nubaid Bin Saadi and his mother, Ishrat Hasan, a lawyer of the Supreme Court.
In the writ, a total of 11 individuals, including the secretary of the Cabinet, the secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, and the secretary of the Ministry of Law, have been made respondents.
Lawyer Ishrat Hasan said: "The paternity leave policy conflicts with Articles 7, 27, 28, 29, 31, and 32 of the Constitution."
The petition argues that the notion that only mothers play a crucial role in newborn care has changed. Fathers’ roles are increasingly significant, especially in busy cities like Dhaka, where help from other family members is limited.
Moreover, the rate of cesarean deliveries is high in our country. After such operations, mothers need time to recover. New fathers find it challenging to care for their wives and newborns without paternity leave. Neighbouring countries like India, Bhutan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and over 78 countries worldwide have provisions for paternity leave, it added.