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<p>This article examines the global inadequacy of maternity leave frameworks through the lens of feminist legal theory, care ethics, and reproductive justice. It argues that even where international human rights instruments such as CEDAW and ILO Convention C183 mandate maternity protections, prevailing legal standards remain biologically unrealistic, socially exclusionary, and structurally limited. Drawing on biomedical research and feminist scholarship, the paper critiques the temporal and epistemic misalignment between law and postpartum realities. Nigeria is analysed as a case study that exemplifies these failures: while recent reforms extend leave in the public sector, rigid timelines, informal sector exclusion, and compulsory prenatal leave policies reflect a deeper disregard for maternal autonomy and recovery. The article calls for a reparative approach to maternity justice, grounded in constitutional care and enforceable rights, that repositions caregiving not as a private burden but as a public good, advancing a broader vision of gender justice and inclusive governance.</p>

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Time to Heal: Global Maternity Leave, Reproductive Justice, and the Feminist Politics of Postpartum Recovery

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月21日

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  • Philippa Osim Inyang

摘要

This article examines the global inadequacy of maternity leave frameworks through the lens of feminist legal theory, care ethics, and reproductive justice. It argues that even where international human rights instruments such as CEDAW and ILO Convention C183 mandate maternity protections, prevailing legal standards remain biologically unrealistic, socially exclusionary, and structurally limited. Drawing on biomedical research and feminist scholarship, the paper critiques the temporal and epistemic misalignment between law and postpartum realities. Nigeria is analysed as a case study that exemplifies these failures: while recent reforms extend leave in the public sector, rigid timelines, informal sector exclusion, and compulsory prenatal leave policies reflect a deeper disregard for maternal autonomy and recovery. The article calls for a reparative approach to maternity justice, grounded in constitutional care and enforceable rights, that repositions caregiving not as a private burden but as a public good, advancing a broader vision of gender justice and inclusive governance.