‘Period tax’ on sanitary products to be abolished, says Pakistan minister

submitted by Powderhorn to news 16 points | 0 comments https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/17/period-tax-sanitary-products-abolished-pakistan-minister > Pakistan plans to abolish “period tax”, in a victory for young campaigners who had taken the government to court over the charges. > > Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that sanitary towels and related items were “daily necessities that are indispensable for women’s health, dignity and full participation in social activities”, and said he intended to remove the sales tax. > > Commercial period products are used only by a minority of women in Pakistan because of their cost, according to research from Unicef. Most use cloth or homemade alternatives that can be unsafe and raise the risk of infection. > > Two lawyers, 25-year-old Mahnoor Omer and 29-year-old Ahsan Jehangir Khan, brought a court case last year in a bid to get sanitary products zero-rated, so that they would not be subject to taxes of any kind. They said the charges amounted to a “pink tax” on women. > > Their campaign was hugely successful on social media and a supportive petition attracted thousands of signatures.