Women and child rights activists to demonstrate over sanitary pad tax

A non-governmental organisation known as Renel Ghana Foundation is threatening to embark on a demonstration if government does not remove the tax on sanitary pads in the country.

A statement released by the women and children rights activists shows the #MyPeriodMattersCampaign is slated for May 30, 2023.

The estimated cost of one pad in Ghana averages about GH¢25 making it difficult for girls and women in rural areas to afford.

The government of Ghana presently charges a luxury tax of 20% and an additional 12.5% VAT on sanitary pads.

“This tax is directly targeted at females for a natural occurrence in their reproductive process. The tax is highly unjust and immoral. The choice of whether to keep its people clean and safe or not is one that a state should never have to present to its people, particularly to the vulnerable sections of society,” Renel Ghana Foundation said in its statement.

The group cited UNESCO’s study where most girls are absent from school for four (4) days in a month and end up losing 13 learning days in every school term.

It added that, in an academic year of nine months, a girl loses 39 learning days, equivalent to six weeks of learning time, due to lack of sanitary pads.

“This situation has dire consequences for the lives of girls. This is why we are passionate about this issue: because any policy that discriminates against a section of the population and pushes people into poverty has no place in an inclusive and democratic state,” the group lamented.

The group thus called on relevant stakeholders and well-meaning Ghanaians to come on board to support its cause.