Advocates for gender and social protection say it is ridiculous for women, especially adolescent girls, to pay taxes on sanitary pads while condoms remain untaxed.

According to them, menstruation is a biological phenomenon and women must not be punished for it through taxation?

Communications and Fundraising Lead at AHOY Africa, Derek Tagoe, said this while explaining why there is a need to involve men in menstrual hygiene and not leave it all to women.

“Parliaments are made up of about seventy to ninety percent of men, and they are the decision-making body. If they don't understand the nuances around menstruation and why it's important that we treat sanitary pads as essential products and not luxury products….”

“You know there’s a law in Ghana that allocates over 35% tax on sanitary pads, it’s ridiculous and that’s because there’s no education,” he said.

Gender and Social Protection lead, Ethel Nana Yaa Amoako Baffoe, also speaking on Joy Prime's Prime Morning, added that when these pads are made expensive, some women may resort to using other substitutes, such as rags and leaves, which are unhygienic and harmful to their health.

“And what hurts me in this whole conversation is that they’re not taxing condoms, look at the prices out there, now it’s outrageous, so they’ll use leaves, she won’t buy the leaves so they’ll use it.”

“And sometimes I just imagine, the leaves cannot soak the blood, so it just leaks around them and they still stain themselves, it’s just something for them to manage for a while,” she said.

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have reiterated their call to the government to reclassify sanitary pads from a luxury product to an essential product, to make it more affordable on the market.

According to them, the 20% luxury tax on sanitary pads and the 15% Value Added Tax make it too expensive on the market and out of reach for many adolescent girls.