New Delhi, January 16 (IANS). Even today in Pakistan, sanitary pads used during menstruation are considered a luxury item and the government is charging up to 40 percent tax on them. This information has come out in a media report.
According to the report, even though awareness about menstrual health has increased across the world and many countries like Malawi and Ethiopia have abolished various taxes and import duties on period products in the last five years, Pakistan still considers them a luxury item rather than an essential item.
“Period products are a luxury tax in Pakistan. They are neither taxed like normal sale items nor given tax exemption like essential items,” NPR.org reports.
According to a 2025 UNICEF report, “no national policy, plan or strategy exists” for menstrual health and hygiene in Pakistan.
Bushra Mahnoor, executive director of Menstrual Justice, a Pakistani nonprofit that works for menstrual justice, told NPR that Pakistan’s constitution considers many items essential, which are tax exempt. “Many things like medical supplies are considered essential. Even animal semen is considered essential for the animal husbandry industry, but not period products. Instead, sanitary pads are taxed at around 40 per cent,” he said.
In the year 2025, Bushra Mahnoor’s team collected more than 10 thousand signatures in support of a petition to remove the luxury tax on sanitary pads. A lawsuit was also filed in September to declare menstrual products a luxury item and an essential item. However, due to the unstable political and judicial situation of the country, the date of hearing of this case has not been decided yet.
At the same time, India had completely abolished the tax on sanitary pads in July 2018. Considering these not as luxury but as essential items, the government removed 12 percent GST, which brought down the prices and especially promoted girls’ education and better menstrual hygiene.
–IANS
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