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Thank you, GST Council. Now let’s educate men

Last Updated 27 July 2018, 05:53 IST

After facing a year of criticism for levying GST of 12 per cent on sanitary napkins, the government has announced a full exemption.

The exemption, however, does not apply to menstrual cups and tampons, other products in the same category.

Kavitha Garla, founding trustee, World of Women, welcomes the decision, saying a rupee saved is a rupee earned.

“I think every rupee saved can be put to good use by the family, especially in the lower strata of society. Considering how the sanitary napkin is a basic necessity for the health and well being of women, it should have never been taxed in the first place,” she told Metrolife.

In the villages, girls and women have to fight with the men in the family to buy sanitary napkins, she observes. “The men don’t think of it as a ‘necessity’, especially in rural India. And that’s why women end up using other unhygienic methods,” she says.

She sees exemption of GST as a “good first step” to bring about change in menstrual hygiene management in India.

The government should educate men and society at the grassroots level about menstruation, she suggests.

What next?

Educate rural men about menstrual hygiene
Make sanitary napkins available at public toilets

Now go organic

“This is a revolutionary step but not the end of the problem. Menstrual hygiene should be propagated more openly now,” says Rashmeet Kaur, co-founder of Lean In India. The next step would be to transition towards organic alternatives to the chemicals, and in making sanitary napkins available at public toilets.

The efforts of organisations and individuals breaking the taboo around menstruation are bearing results, says Gowri Om.

“Speaking for myself, I am personally moving away from sanitary napkins and looking for alternative menstrual hygiene products like tampons and cups,” she says.

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(Published 26 July 2018, 12:51 IST)

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