Why should a girl child pay so much for sanitary pads?

By: Seli Baisie

Frankly speaking, when I went to the supermarket today to get some sanitary pads for myself, I was in awe of the prices listed on the pads. All of a sudden, I became sad and all I could think of is the girl child in the rural area. How would such a girl afford a sanitary pad every month during her time of menstruation? Menstruation is a natural occurrence in girls and women.

The menstrual cycle itself comes with its own pain, mood swings, and other forms of discomfort. However, the high cost of sanitary pads has added to the excruciating pains associated with the monthly flow.

As today marks International Day of the Girl Child, I would like to call on the government once again to waive taxes on sanitary pads. I know there have been intensified calls to scrap taxes on sanitary pads to make them affordable to all but nothing has been done till now.

International Day of the Girl Child was commemorated in Ghana today, October 11, 2022, to increase awareness of issues faced by girls around the world. Let’s also not forget that a young girl missed school today simply because she cannot afford to buy disposable pads.

According to a UNESCO report, one in every ten girls in Sub-Saharan Africa misses school during their menstrual period, which can amount to up to 20% of the school year.

Data available in Ghana, also revealed that 9 out of 10 girls regularly miss school during their periods. Due to a lack of funds to purchase a disposable sanitary pad, 44 to 54 percent of schoolgirls in Northern Ghana use reusable clothes to collect menstrual blood.

All these factors impede the well-being, welfare, and education of the girl child. While other young girls battle with affordability, some girls in remote areas do not have access to the product even if they could afford it.

Some girls have to resort to transactional sex in exchange for a pad or other hygienic materials. This has resulted in teenage pregnancy, transmission of STDs, child marriage, and others.

I know this government is a firm advocate for women’s empowerment and has pledged to relentlessly pursue a fight against gender inequality to bring women to the standards they deserved to be.

Now, is the time to make these promises practical by scrapping taxes on sanitary pads and, if possible, make it free in high schools.

I can vividly remember on the night of the biggest Global Citizen festival held in Black Star square, President Akufo-Addo delivered an address stating that he will implement policies that would make the girl child reach her full potential, for the benefit of not only females but also the country at large.

“Women and girls account for 51 per cent of the population of Ghana, the majority and that is the same everywhere on the continent. So, empowering them is critical to speeding up Africa’s progress”, the President stated.

“As President of Ghana, as co-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and as AU gender champion, I am committed to putting in place policies and programmes aimed at improving the development of the girl child in Ghana.”

Sadly, Ghana has to depend on other foreign countries in order to import disposable sanitary products with a 20 percent import tax, resulting in high costs.

On this note, whiles I call on the government to remove taxes on sanitary pads as an interim measure, I further suggest government should prioritize and facilitate the production of sanitary pads locally to make it affordable to all. This will also create job opportunities for others as the country is currently battling with high unemployment rate.

Thank you.

The author of this piece is a journalist with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.

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