You can’t tax menstrual flow of women to build a nation – Doyoe-Cudjoe tells gov’t to scrap levies on sanitary pads

The Deputy Chairperson of the Women caucus in Parliament, Comfort Doyoe-Cudjoe Ghansah, wants government to as matter of urgency, scrap the taxes on sanitation pads to make it affordable for the vulnerable.

The Member of Parliament for Ada says government cannot tax the biological make-up of women to build the nation. She is therefore calling for the scrapping of the huge taxes on the item to reduce the cost.

Speaking at the 2024 Ada Asafotufiami festival edition of Onua  TV People’s Assembly, the Deputy Minority Whip disclosed that most teenage pregnancies that have come to her outfit are as a result of high cost of sanitary pads.

She explained that since many young girls cannot afford the product, they resort to seeking assistance from young men to help them purchase and offer them sex in return.

“We can’t tax the menstrual blood of women to build a nation. It is not our fault to menstruate so taxing pads is like roasting your tongue to use as meat. Many of the young ladies go to the guys to take pads and they have sex with them and they get pregnant. This is on the rise because we are not doing what will stop these things,” she lamented Friday, August 02, 2024.

Several calls have come for the government to reduce or scrap the taxes on sanitary pads to make it affordable for all.

Government under the Harmonized System Code 9619001000, classifies sanitary pads as ‘Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles’ which subjects them to a myriad of taxes including: 20% import duty; 15% Import VAT, and other import and statutory levies.

This means that under the current tax regime, taxes are imposed on a biological necessity that women have no control over; thereby making sanitary pads unaffordable and inaccessible, especially to low-income households.

Sanitary products are currently enlisted in chapter 96 of the Harmonized System, and that attracts a 32.5% tax on imported sanitary pads, which comprises a 20% import duty and a 12.5% Value Added Tax. The impact of the taxes is the high cost of a pack of menstrual pad which is between GHC20.00  and GHC40.00.

Meanwhile, Madam Doyoe-Cudjoe has re-emphasized that menstruation is a natural phenomenon and the imposition of taxes on sanitary pads which is a basic necessity of life is reinforcing the gender and social norms which efforts are being made to minimize.

The lack of accessibility and affordability is throwing girls and young women out of school and businesses which further widens the inequality gap in education and economic empowerment of women and girls. There are health implications for girls and young women who resort to the use of unhygienic menstrual products because sanitary pads are expensive.

She stressed that all sanitary pads be made affordable, accessible, and available to enable young girls to be able to afford.

Source:onuaonline.com