90-day maternity leave

It was recently announced in the news that female government workers who gave birth will be entitled to 90 days maternity leave come 2011.

Almost immediately the talk shows & radio DJs invited viewers & listeners to comment on this 'entitlement'. Naturally the men (and some women) were not in favour of this proposal- their arguments were along the lines of lower productivity, cost to the company, chances of the women coming back to work with another bun in the oven, unfair to the men etc2.

My question is: Why make it a big deal?

Let it be known that I am in total support of the 90-day maternity leave, although it is not likely that I'll be using it ever because I don't work for the government, it takes a bit long for these policies to be adopted by private companies and I have enough children in my care. Sorry to digress, my justification for the support is listed below (not in any particular order):
- This move by employers will reflect support for women workers & their interest to retain good female talent
- It is an Option for the woman to take 90 days of leave but she may come back earlier, should she choose to do so (although indirectly employers can 'discourage' the longer leave)
- Bonding with the child can take place during the extended leave- breastfeeding can be encouraged for better brain development; it is also an adjustment period for the mum especially when it is the birth of a firstborn
- To avoid coming back to work with another bun in the oven, women can be educated on contraceptives- perhaps LPPKN can enlarge their network & empower women/mothers to take control over their bodies and make the choices they need to make- the end result is hopefully more responsible parenting & care of children, since there is sufficient age gap between the offsprings

Reflections

Tonight I attended a dinner event themed "Celebrating Women" & to end Syawal on a high note. The organisers invited children from 2 orphanages to join them for dinner with songs & performances. Towards the end of the dinner the children were invited to sing some songs... one was a curious (perhaps even awkward) song about a father going away & asking the children to look after each other. One girl in the background could hardly sing the song & her body language reflects that she was not too comfortable being there. Her head hung down- although she did not exactly cry I felt that she was forlorn.

Orphans should never ever be asked to sing that song. Is it the public perception that orphans should seek sympathy wherever they go? Aren't there motivational or hopeful songs that could free the hearts already laden with emotions? It is bad enough that they no longer have a father/mother/both father & mother to look after them; they're now asked to sing a song about parental separation! Perhaps it is reverse psychology- if they rehearse the songs often enough they will be numb??