The Member of Parliament for Kpando in the Volta Region, Della Sowah, has urged the government to scrap the 20 percent luxury tax on imported sanitary pads.
The 20 percent levy exists because sanitary pads are categorized as luxury products per the Ghana Revenue Authority guidelines.
The scrapping of this levy is necessary to drive down the cost of the imported pads, which are of better quality, to make them more affordable, she said.
Speaking to Citi News after making the call on the Floor of Parliament to mark World Menstrual Hygiene Day on Tuesday, she noted that access to the pads had a bearing on girls’ education.
“The government considers pads as a luxury item and has put a 20 percent tax on imported sanitary pads. Pads as a luxury item; I think it’s insensitive. It is an unnecessary tax and it has to be scrapped.”
In her constituency, the MP said some girls are forced to use rags in place of the pads.
“So many young girls when they are menstruating, they don’t go to school because when a young girl soils her uniform, it is a big deal. So rather than soil her uniform, they don’t go to school. In the end, they just become dropouts,” she said.
She noted that research indicated that “if sanitary pads are cheap, half the girls who stay out of school will be back in school.”
In line with education, a non-governmental organisation, Happy School Girl project, has also called on the government to provide free sanitary pads as part of the Free Senior High school policy.
