The need for accessibility

health

The challenges that menstruating females face encompass more than a basic lack of supplies or infrastructure. While menstruation is a normal and healthy part of life for most women and girls, in many societies, the experience of menstruation continues to be constrained by cultural taboos and discriminatory social norms.

Menstrual Health and Hygiene (MHH) is essential to the well-being and empowerment of women and adolescent girls. On any given day, more than 300 million women worldwide are menstruating. In total, an estimated 500 million lack access to menstrual products and adequate facilities for menstrual hygiene management. To effectively manage their menstruation, girls and women require access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities, affordable and appropriate menstrual hygiene materials, information on good practices, and a supportive environment where they can manage menstruation without embarrassment or stigma.

UNICEF in collaboration with Santex Products, the manufacturers of sanitary napkin, recently organised the Policy Level Dialogue on Menstrual Health & Hygiene Tax Reforms. A pioneering initiative, the dialogue was a continuation of the ethnographic research on menstrual health and hygiene conducted by the two partners.

The discussion brought together prominent stakeholders from government, non-profit organisations, and the private sector who all urged the government to address this pressing issue and advocate for policy reforms aimed at reducing financial barriers to accessing required products that are currently subject to Luxury Tax.

Chief Guest at the occasion, Mehnaz Akbar Aziz, Member of the National Assembly and Chairperson for the Parliamentary Committee on Law and Justice agreed to raise this issue in parliament and support tax reforms. She was joined by Dr Inoussa Kabore, Deputy Representative UNICEF Pakistan and Fawaz Ahmed, Head of Marketing Santex Products, along with other dignitaries.

Distinguished speakers and panellists shared valuable insights, experiences, and successful initiatives from around the world and encouraging the policy makers and the private sector to replicate these approaches while respecting local customs in Pakistan. Women, especially young girls, in disaster hit and rural areas of Pakistan require immediate assistance in this matter. Participants engaged in thoughtful discussions on various approaches to reduce or eliminate taxes on products directly linked to women’s health as well as maximising the governments to financial potential by reaching millions of untapped consumers.

In her address, Mehnaz expressed her deep concerns when revealing that only 7 per cent of Pakistani women have access to required products due to reasons such as high cost, unavailability, social taboos and lack of awareness. She emphasised the urgent need of accessibility at a nominal, affordable cost nationwide. Mehnaz called upon the government, budget committee, and relevant institutions to recognise sanitary napkins as necessities rather than luxury items. She passionately urged for tax exemption and price reduction to ensure the availability of these essential products to all women in the country.

Dr Inoussa expressed gratitude to all participants for their invaluable contributions, urging the government, civil society organisations, private sector partners, and individuals to come together in addressing women health challenges, challenging societal norms, and implementing sustainable solutions.

Fawaz Ahmed, underscored the significance of the dialogue in addressing such pivotal issues and advocating for policy reforms. He emphasised the importance of tax reductions or exemptions on women essential products to alleviate the financial burden faced and promoting menstrual equity while upholding their dignity.

In light of the discussions, the following proposed tax reforms have been put forward:

*Designating locally manufactured products as an ‘essential item’ and including them in the Sixth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, alongside food and medical supplies.

*Alternatively, considering a suitable reduction in sales tax by adding locally manufactured sanitary napkins and their key raw materials to the Eighth Schedule of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.

*Excluding sap paper, which is an essential raw material for sanitary napkins constituting approximately 26 per cent of the total cost, from the list of non-essential luxury items currently subject to the highest sales tax rate of 25 per cent.

With initiatives such as these and through all these efforts, we can hope to find ways for local communities to have access to menstrual health and sanitation for themselves and others.