Disposable sanitary pads are classified as luxury goods and therefore attract an import tax of 20% and a value-added tax of 12.5%. This has made it very expensive for many girls to afford in Ghana. But the most pressing question should be, is sanitary pad a luxury product?
Cambridge dictionary defines luxury goods as expensive things, such as jewellery and make-up, that are pleasant to have but are not necessary:
Many young girls resort to toilet tissue, old clothes and other means to deal with the period. But what is the efficacy of those means for managing menstrual hygiene?
Many groups in the country are advocating that the taxes be scrapped from the pads. The classification of sanitary towels as luxury goods sought to imply it is only a product for the rich. The ripple effect is consolidating the structural inequalities existing in our society.
Many of these girls in deprived communities can hardly fend for themselves. Some trade sex for food, soap and other basic necessities. Speaking in an interview today on TV3, officers from the Ghana Education Service for girl child education revealed that some girls trade sex for sanitary pads.
The Northern Sector Advocacy and Awareness Center (NORSAAC) also found that Menstruation in the Northern Regions is considered as something that should be kept discrete – it shouldn’t be known that you are menstruating, consequently, girls don’t have the confidence to wash the rag properly and hang it outside to dry so that bacteria get killed by the sun. As a result, many poor girls “use the dirty rag for the entire period”, which is a health hazard.
Research by Scot et al,.(2009,p.2) revealed that educators reported a precipitous drop in Girl’s enrolment between primary 6 and Junior High School. As much as 95% of the school girls in rural areas admitted to skipping school as a result of their menstrual period.
As of October, the minimum wage in Ghana is GHC13.53 pesewas according to Africapay.org. This wage is not enough to afford a three-squared meal. Meanwhile, the price of Yazz is GHC 10.66 pesewas, Always Ultra Thin Wings with seven pads is GHC 11.95 pesewas. The cheapest price of sanitary towels stands at 5 0r 6 Ghana Cedis will still eat massively into the minimum wage which is no measure for the current food inflation.
This is just one of the many plights of many deprived girls who have to battle with sanitary methods to manage their period flows and avoid the contraction of diseases. Even if you have the money as a girl, you would eventually give in to your hunger demand over getting a sanitary towel.
By: King Mawuli
