A province in east China is set to give women, who suffer from painful menstrual cramps, time off work.

According to government officials in Anhui, starting from March, the province will offer between one to two days leave a month for women who are the victims of painful periods, the People's Daily Online reports.

The new rule was decided during the 67th annual meeting of the Anhui provincial government held in January.

Anhui province in east China has introduced leave for women suffering from severe menstrual cramps

During the annual meeting, Anhui authorities passed a new law on the protection of female employees in the province.

Other measures including maternity leave and one hour a day breastfeeding leave for mothers with babies under the age of one.

According to the rule, all women taking the 'menstrual leave' would have to get a note from their doctor to give to their employers, allowing the leave to take place.

Anhui isn't the first province in the country to introduce leave for severe menstrual pain. Hubei and Hainan provinces also offer this type of leave however the take up has been fairly low.

Hainan province haven't made the leave compulsory and so most employers have not made it company policy.

Guangdong province held a consultation and trial period to consider the motion in December however it is not clear if it will be passed.

There has been much debate in the country about whether the rule should be introduced country-wide and whether women will actually take up these sick days.

According to China.org, an investigation carried out last year showed that around 20 percent of women would not take up the opportunity for various reasons including exposing their private lives and causing delays in work.

The study also revealed that employers were feeling dubious about granting women leave as it would result in extra operating costs leaving companies questioning whether they should hire female employees.

However Chinese media are reporting that in Anhui, employers who refuse to give the go-ahead to leave will be subject to fines.

People in China are worried that employers would not help with efforts to balance discrimination at work

According to Beijing News, many gynecologists believe that it will be hard to gauge the extent of the pain.

Women on China's Twitter-like Weibo have been discussing the issue.

One user wrote: 'I think this regulation will make it even harder for women to find jobs.'

While another said: 'It looks like it is protecting women's rights, but eventually it will make things worse. The discrimination at work will never end if the rights of women and men are not balanced'.

Other countries and regions in Asia already offer days off.

Taiwan's current menstrual leave legislation guarantees female workers three days of menstrual leave a year, in addition to the 30 days of half-paid sick leave allotted to all workers.